More on Nico Kitchen + Bar...

Culinaire president Bill Thompson just released more news of the success of Nico Kitchen + Bar, the new restaurant concept from celebrated New Jersey Chef Ryan DePersio in downtown Newark at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. We'd like to thank him for the shout out. 

Continuing our strategy of partnering with celebrated chefs to stimulate interest, trial, and loyalty in our restaurant ventures, we opened NICO Kitchen + Bar on February 21 on the ground floor of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.

NICO Kitchen + Bar, the “Italian without Borders” restaurant concept from celebrated New Jersey Chef Ryan DePersio of Fascino and Bar Cara fame, is located in downtown Newark at NJPAC. Known for its power lunch week days, sophisticated happy hour, and contemporary, “shared plates” o fferings, it also provides a delicious prelude to guests attending performances by o ffering a value-priced prix fixe menu before every curtain.

Sleek, strong, and understatedly theatrical in keeping with NJPAC’s overall design, NICO boasts soaring, 32-foot ceilings, arts & crafts-style touches, and warm gold and brown tones throughout. The Bar and Lounge feature dark poured concrete floors, high-backed leather-upholstered booth seating, and 12 dramatic cylindrical pendant lights over the bar. Clear glass and dark oak bar shelves and wine racks create a transom eff ect, with views through to main dining room.

Shea, the restaurant design group from Minneapolis, transformed the interior and nailed our desire to convert a cavernous, 300-seat restaurant created to accommodate pre-performance crowds into an intimate, flexible series of lounges and dining rooms. Theatrically-inspired panels can be lowered on pulleys to segment the space into an 80-seat bistro with 3 private dining rooms for 45, or raised to the rafters to open up the space for pre-performance capacity crowds or catered events for up to 300.

Rave reviews are pouring in, and we’ve got another smash on our hands.

Shea-designed Nico now open at the NJPAC

Shea recently worked with Culinaire Hospitality Management on a renovation of the existing Theater Grill space in New Jersey Performing Arts Center, (NJPAC) rebranding the space as Nico Kitchen + Bar, featuring the Italian cuisine of Chef Ryan DePersio. We worked on the design of the logo and brand as well as the interior design of the space. Nico opened to rave reviews in February. Read the following press release for more on the concept:

The new Nico name and logo was created by Shea, Inc.

An exciting new arrival to New Jersey Performing Arts Center – the all-new, "Italian Without Borders" NICO Kitchen + Bar.

NICO will present food that is as fresh, inspired, and well-executed as the artistry that graces the NJPAC stages. The NICO Kitchen + Bar concept -- contemporary, high energy, and market-driven -- comes from celebrity chef Ryan DePersio (The Today Show, The Food Network), owner/operator/chef of Fascino in Montclair and Bar Cara in Bloomfield.

Ryan will bring to NJPAC an appealing “shared plates” dinner menu and a focused, eclectic lunch menu. NICO will also offer a sophisticated, enjoyable Happy Hour with crafted cocktails and specially priced "bites."

NICO will also feature a value-priced, three-course prix-fixe menu on performance nights and matinees, designed to come out of the kitchen quickly so guests can make their curtain ~ if they arrive at least 90 minutes prior to the start of a performance.

Guests will also be able to savor 21 wines by the glass, original seasonal and classic cocktails, and artisanal beers.

NICO offers free parking with validation (although not in conjunction with any performance.)

You can learn more about NJPAC’s exciting new restaurant and how to access menus and make your reservation by visiting nicokitchenbar.com

Shea Renovates Lake Shore Icon Bar Harbor

Bar Harbor reopens Tuesday

Landmark restaurant unveils renovations

By Renee Richardson, Senior Reporter,
Brainerddispatch.com


LAKE SHORE — Mahogany wood gleams from the wainscotting on the walls to the tabletops and polished bar.

The dark, shining wood is a dominant look in the new Bar Harbor restaurant, which officially reopens its doors Tuesday afternoon after a much-anticipated renovation.

The restaurant closed in September. Owner John Allen planned a major renovation and when winter didn’t arrive, he took the opportunity to expand the project and open when spring arrived. Now he’s doing just that and reopening at 4 p.m. Tuesday, the first official day of spring.

It’s a new life for the venerable restaurant that has been part of the lakes area lore since 1938. A vintage photo of the restaurant and its Elbow Room hangs on one of the walls in the new Bar Harbor. The restaurant has two sides, one with white table cloths and fireplace and the other with high tables and bar seating, including an intimate piano bar and nearby stage for a three- or four-piece band.

The rectangular bar takes up the center of the room with seating on all sides, giving patrons a view of Gull Lake.

Shea Inc. architects of Minneapolis designed the restaurant and Gull Lake Construction did the work.CLICK HERE FOR SLIDESHOW OF IMAGES.

Gone is the gray exterior. Gone is the bar that faced away from the lake. Gone is the gift shop in the base of the light house.

General Manager Chris McHugh said he knows expectations are high. Bar Harbor, he said, is where people met their future spouses and where they celebrated momentous occasions. It was Allen’s vision to pull from the restaurant’s rich tradition and rebuild that grandeur that was present for so many years.

“This is his vision to rebuild Bar Harbor for the community,” McHugh said of Allen.

The vision is to recapture the restaurant’s reputation for quality food and nice customer service, McHugh said.

“We want to be kind of upscale casual,” McHugh said. But McHugh said they are not creating a restaurant just for special occasions. They hope to bring in patrons fresh off a boating excursion as they dock at one of Bar Harbor’s 32 boat slips. The restaurant seats 210 inside and 110 outside. Seating on the deck now has a focal point of a gas stone fire pit and view of Gull Lake. McHugh said they want to incorporate music, such as an acoustical guitar, on the deck. The hope is to create a dining experience whether patrons are off the boat or golf course or celebrating and everything in between, McHugh said.

“We want to be as many things to as many people as we can,” he said.

Photos of wooden boats are displayed near the restaurant’s main entrance and are an indication of one of Allen’s own passions for the classic boats. Allen has been a lakes area resident since 1994. Names of resorts and landmarks are displayed in a line winding around the bar area near the ceiling in the Elbow Room.

The restaurant employs 80. About 177 people applied for jobs at a job fair in Nisswa a few weeks ago. McHugh said they feel they’ve got a guest-focused and hospitality driven staff. At the base of the light house, a wine locker was created. Patrons who live in the area or vacation here will be able to put their own wine bottles behind the mahogany doors of the wine lockers.

Beyond the look and the service, the real measure of a restaurant is the food.

“The food is the engine that’s going to drive our car,” McHugh said.

To that end, Chef P. J. Severson said the kitchen’s focus is on fresh ingredients and meals made in-house. He said the restaurant is focused on a higher-quality of tender meat that incorporates the tradition of the supper club and its steaks.

Severson said the steaks take on a nice sear under 1,400 degrees for something that isn’t seen in the area.

Beyond steaks, the menu features appetizers, entrees, salads, soups, vegetarian dishes, seafood, pasta, Rotisserie chicken, seared tuna. The restaurant includes a late night menu from 10 p.m. to midnight with chicken and waffles, sashimi grade tuna and mini-beef sliders with truffled french fries. A focus is on fresh and vibrant flavor, McHugh said. There are Cajun pork chops, dry-rubbed wings toasted in a sauce, fish tacos, walleye and salmon dishes. The Rotisserie chicken uses a house brine. Shrimp comes in every fashion from scampi to coconut to cocktail. And Severson said they have a traditional Maryland style lump crab cake. Pastas include a fettucini Alfredo.

Prices range from $14 entrees to a 32-ounce porterhouse steak for two at $55. The entrees come with salad, potato and vegetable. A speciality item, Severson said, is a soft pretzel bun. Other items include a spinach salad with vanilla bean vinaigrette.

“I think it’s a great opportunity,” Severson said, of the ability to work with a restaurant of this size and impact a large customer base in a short amount of time.

Best in Real Estate features multiple Shea projects

The Business Journal is in search of the Best in Real Estate, and Shea, Inc. nominated two projects this year: Lunds and Rosa Mexicano. We are proud to announce that, as of last week, both are finalists!

Shea was part of the design team on two other projects that are also finalists: Campbell Mithun Tower and the Hennepin Theater Trust's New Century Theatre. We are looking forward to the event and an announcement of the winners on April 26. Stay tuned. 

Lunds, Hennepin Avenue, Minnepolis

Rosa Mexicano, Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis

CLICK HERE for an image gallery of all 40 finalists. 


An 11-member panel of real-estate experts selected the finalists, along with winners in 19 categories, recognizing the top developments, transactions and property management from 2011.

Winners in each category will be revealed at an awards event Thursday, April 26, at Graves 601 Hotel Minneapolis, and both the finalists and winners will be featured in the Best in Real Estate special report Friday, April 27.

The judges also named Boyd Stofer, former CEO and chairman of Marquette Real Estate Group, recipient of the Business Journal’s annual Lifetime Achievement Award. The award will be presented posthumously, honoring Stofer’s 33-year career in the industry and his community involvement. Stofer died in November of medical complications related to a recent surgery. He was 62.

Strib visits the Butcher & the Boar

Nightlife: Full boar
Article by: TOM HORGEN , Star Tribune
Updated: March 9, 2012 - 10:09 AM
Wild boar, beef hearts and rare bourbon. Is this the Twin Cities' next big thing?

Photo: Kyndell Harkness

Jack Riebel's grandma would be proud. You see, the former Dakota chef is a bourbon man. Has been since he was old enough to drink -- when his mother's mother introduced him to what is called America's Native Spirit.

"Wild Turkey 101 was her poison -- so I'm a 101 guy, too," Riebel said. "We were going to bury her with a bottle of bourbon. But at 85 she told us, 'Oh, goodness, don't waste your good bottle of whiskey on me.' True story."

Were his grandmother alive today, Riebel surely would have lavished her with the best of the best at his new place. The chef is at the helm of one of the most anticipated restaurants of the year: Butcher & the Boar. And this be a bourbon joint.

Just opened in downtown Minneapolis, the restaurant has captured the zeitgeist of the current restaurant scene. All that is hot right now can be found here -- artisanal meats, craft beer and, of course, lots and lots of bourbon.

One sign of anticipation? The joint had 1,200 Facebook fans before it ever opened.

"There is an American craft movement happening right now," Riebel said. "Even the china we bought was made in America."

The Texas-inspired menu is piled high with sausages, dry-aged beef and ribs -- all sourced from sustainable farms. Riebel's team is a who's who of industry veterans, culled from restaurants such as Bar La Grassa, Barrio and Tilia.

It took six months and a lot of rejiggering to get this enterprise off the ground. The chef allowed me to take a peek behind the curtain. Here are nine things you'll want to know about Butcher & the Boar.
 
1. Beer and sausage was just the beginning
Initially, Riebel and company had a simple idea for a downtown beer garden with good meaty snacks. Like a snowball rolling down a hill, their ambitions quickly grew until they were commanding a 60-person operation that could very well redefine barbecue in the Twin Cities. After years of working in the best of other people's kitchens (Goodfellows, La Belle Vie, Dakota), Riebel is ready to flex his chops as owner and operator.

2. This isn't just a restaurant -- it's a charcuterie factory Customers dine within earshot of the open kitchen and its wood-burning grill on the main floor. But just below in the basement is a larger production kitchen running 18 hours a day. Down here, sous chef Peter Botcher oversees a half-dozen cooks churning out all manner of sausage (venison, walleye, vegetarian chorizo). It's where you'll also find the two smokers -- one is made by Ole Hickory and can hold more than 300 pounds of ribs.

3. They're serving boar and it is truly wild The feral pig comes from Broken Arrow Ranch in Ingram, Texas, which supplies top restaurants with wild game harvested in the field. "They literally spot the pigs from the truck, shoot them and then process them in the truck," Riebel said. He said Butcher & the Boar already is the nation's largest purchaser of wild boar (serving it in a variety of ways: ham, headcheese and one juicy sausage).

4. Hennepin Avenue will now be called Bourbon Street Partner/bar manager Jerald Hansen (a Manny's alum) traveled to Kentucky to handpick the bar's collection of 65 bourbons. One of the crown jewels is a nine-year-old Knob Creek single-barrel bourbon chosen specifically for Butcher & the Boar. As for prices, 2-ounce pours range from $5 to $30 (with Pappy Van Winkle's 20-year on the higher end). Flights are $12. If bourbon's not your thing (what's wrong with you?), there are 30 tap beers and 28 wines by the glass.

5. The floor is covered with 8,000 pennies What's more American than stepping on Abraham Lincoln's face? That's right: From the entryway to the end of the bar, co-owner/builder Tim Rooney coated the ground with 8,000 copper coins. "They were delivered by an armored truck," Riebel said. "There's a few dimes in there, too." Beefing up the rustic interior are thick timber tables, cast-iron fixtures and reclaimed tin door frames (complete with shattered glass).

6. Only one thing on a bun And that's by design (it's the footlong hot dog). Riebel designed his menu for maximum sharing (and thinks ordering a hamburger means you don't like sharing). The sausages are $9 to $12. The venison comes with homemade Cheez Whiz. "Yeah, we're making our own Cheez Whiz," he said. Riebel seemed particularly proud of his $10 turkey braunschweiger, which comes in a glass canning jar with homemade rye crackers. Larger meats start at $18. The biggest slab on the menu is a 30-ounce "cowboy steak," priced at $80 and meant to be shared (obviously).

7. Here's a parking guide -- you'll need it The parking at 12th and Hennepin can be intimidating. Best option is valet. There are 18 free spots in what is being called "the lucky lot" next to the building. The garage behind the restaurant is $4 after 4 p.m. or if you're lucky, grab a meter (free after 6 p.m. and all day Saturday and Sunday).

8. There will be a second opening, so to speak.

The unfinished beer garden already has a big buzz and there's still snow (or slush) on the ground. Riebel says it feels like he's opening a second restaurant on the same property. It'll have room for about 150 people and feature a full-on bar (also with 30 taps). There will be a fireplace, plus views of the IDS Center. He's hoping to have it completed by May.

9. Grandma honored on the menu That's her: the Pickled Heart Marcella. A lot of love goes into that dish, named for Riebel's bourbon-loving nana (Marcella Strom). The hearts come from grass-fed cows on the StoneBridge beef farm in Long Prairie. The recipe (with its pickled radishes) has been in the family 100 years, Riebel said, passed down from one cook to the next. Just like their love of bourbon.

• Follow Horgen on Twitter: @tomhorgen

Butcher & the Boar Now open!

Butcher & the Boar opened to the public last night and the long line to get in the doors was an indication of the excitement surrounding the new concept featuring the cuisine of chef Jack Riebel. We had a blast working on this project. Check out the article below from Thrillist.com featuring some great shots of the space. You've got to check it out!

Butcher & The Boar
Free-range boar and single-barrel bourbon
article and photos by Drew Wood, Thrillist.com

"American craft food and bourbon house" is no longer just the title of the most awesome real estate listing ever, thanks to Harmon Place's Butcher & the Boar. A deceptively large neighborhood noshery with wood stoves dominated by Jack Riebel's skilled hands and penny-tiled floors dominated by Abe Lincoln's skilled face, Butcher puts equal emphasis on bourbon, beer, and shareable plates.

Eat: Mainly in the $10/plate range, the menu gets mega-meaty with assorted sausages, free-range boar, Texas hot links, a rotating fish of the month, and lobster grilled cheese, then totally sneaks behind your back with a "vegan chorizo sausage" that will "surprise meat-eaters with its deliciousness", which isn't half as funny as if it surprised vegans by sneakily containing meat, but whatever.

Drink: Bolstering an already impressive 30 craft taps (Surly, Fulton, Bells, etc) is their 65-strong bourbon program with everything from major labels (Wild Turkey, Buffalo Trace) to rarer single-barrels. Plus, there'll be nightly whiskey shot specials, and high-end stuff available in cheaper, one or two ounce pour options, which could also rightly be called "poor options" (TM!).

Come warmer weather, they'll open a 200-seat beer garden with a separate bar, fire pit, mural (by local artists like Adam Turman), and a high-top table cut from a tree that used to occupy the space, so hang out there and, just like a good real estate agent, you'll never get listless.

OSKA opens tomorrow at 50th & France

OSKA is an internationally well-known label for women’s outer garments, and we are proud to be the company's design partner on their newest location at 50th & France in Edina, MN. In addition to the OSKA collection of modern timeless and urban designs for women, the shop on 50th and France will feature an ever-changing selection of numerous designer collections that appeal to its sophisticated clientele.

The official grand opening is tomorrow, Friday, March 2, 2012 at 10am. You can learn more about OSKA International at http://www.oska.de/ and for details on the Edina store, check out http://oskaedina.wordpress.com

New awnings were recently installed in time for the Grand Opening of the brand new OSKA store at 50th & France.

Butcher & the Boar opening next Tuesday!

In today's Star Tribune, Rick Nelson makes the announcement:

"The long-awaited Butcher & the Boar (1121 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls.) is scheduled to debut its craft beers-bourbon-charcuterie strategy on Tuesday, March 6 at 5 p.m., with chefs Jack Riebel and Peter Botcher in the kitchen and Jerald Hansen behind the bar."

We've been regularly checking in on the progress of our latest design project with great anticipation, and today you can find some amazing in-progress photos on the Butcher & the Boar facebook page. Here are a few sneak peeks:

Photos by Travis Anderson

travisandersonphoto.com