Last call: Several local establishments ring in new year in new digs
By Casey Gillis on Dec. 19, 2007
To the naked eye, Sunday seemed just like any other day at Mudpuppy’s.
As usual, the place was jam-packed with football fans rooting for their favorite teams.
But if you looked a little closer, changes were apparent as the popular bar and restaurant marked its last night in the Forest Plaza West shopping center, where it’s been drawing a steady mix of college students, twentysomethings and old timers for the past 11 years.
The music and sports memorabilia that have bedecked the walls for years were gone. So was one of the trestles that framed a set of Mudpuppy’s signature plaid booths.
And when co-owner Tommy Keane got up to leave late that night, he was met with a round of applause and cheers from the crowd.
After the applause died down, Keane thanked those longtime customers and his staff, then told everyone he’d see them down the road at Mudpuppy’s new digs: 3009 Old Forest Road, formerly Clayton’s, J.T. McWane’s and, years ago, Boodles.
Mudpuppy’s is sharing the space with former neighbor Jazz Street Grill.
“That was tough,” Keane said Monday. “I was very touched. We’ve got a great group of customers who come in there. It’s a regular’s place. I have no doubt they’ll follow us.”
Jazz Street opened in the new location two weeks ago, and Mudpuppy’s opens for business tonight.
“It’s bittersweet. We know we’re moving to a really nice location, but 11 years of memories (are) in that place,” said Keane, who co-owns Mudpuppies with Mark Paulette. “It’s tough, but you take the memories with you and hope to create memories at the new place.”
The move came about after shopping center tenants — which also included Vines Café, Isabella’s restaurant, Osaka Japanese Express, Fresh Air Natural Foods and Complements Commercial & Residential Design — were told last December that a Wal-Mart would be moving in.
“To have that thing hanging over your head for over a year … was nerve-wracking,” Keane said.
Mudpuppy’s and Jazz Street aren’t the only businesses that have already left the shopping center.
Fresh Air Natural Foods relocated to Lakeside Drive, and Vines Café moved to Rivermont Avenue, where Shad’s and Trotters used to be located.
Owners Elise and Aaron Hertzberg first opened Vines as a retail wine and beer store in 2004 and said they always planned to expand the operation.
Over the past year, they began serving lunch and dinner at the old location, and even bigger changes are in store now that they’ve moved.
“We’ve been kind of expanding since we opened,” Elise Hertzberg said.
The new Rivermont Avenue space affords them a better location, much more space and, with an upstairs and downstairs, several different dining options.
“It can really be two different places,” said Aaron Hertzberg.
The upstairs space, designed for a more fine dining experience, opened earlier this month and has already tripled the business they got at their old location, he said. And they’ve already sold out two seatings for their New Year’s Eve event, a five-course meal prepared by head chefs Joe Hubbard and Shawn Merrow.
Elise Hertzberg said the downstairs, which they hope to open this spring, would have more of a college atmosphere, with a full bar and a brick pizza oven. It will also house the retail space, where they’ll continue to sell imported beers and wines.
As for the other tenants of Forest Plaza West, Isabella’s and Complements are both going to move, but neither business has decided on a location yet, and Osaka plans to stay put for another five to eight months.
Keane said Mudpuppy’s and Jazz Street could have waited it out, too, but when the new space became available, they decided to move sooner rather than later.
It was a no-brainer for the two to team up because of the relationship Keane and Paulette have formed with Jazz Street owner Walter Hawkins over the years. Jazz Street opened in 1994, and Mudpuppy’s in 1996.
“We have some similar clientele,” Hawkins said. “It was a natural progression.”
In fact, it wasn’t uncommon to regularly see patrons bouncing between the two establishments on a Friday or Saturday night.
Now all three are partners in the new place, which Keane said they’re envisioning as one business with two different dining areas.
But neither will lose its identity.
Jazz Street is still serving it’s signature New Orleans-style food and will continue to host live music nights, while Mudpuppy’s will remain a sports pub — just subtract the pool tables and add in a 22-foot long shuffle board and a few new flat-screen TVs behind the bar.
They’re also transferring a lot of Mudpuppy’s pictures and memorabilia, as well as that trestle that sat over the booths.
Oh, and the signature wings aren’t going anywhere either.
“If you wanna watch the game on one side you can, and if you wanna watch a band on one side, you can,” Keane said.
The cooks for both eateries were going to begin training together in a shared kitchen earlier this week in preparation for tonight.
So far, Jazz Street has seen a steady stream of business.
“The lunches have been really, really strong,” Keane said. “We’ve seen a lot of new faces already.
“From everything I’ve heard (from regular customers), everybody is very excited about it. I’m looking forward to moving on to bigger and better things.”
Both Keane and Hawkins said they like their new location and think it’s better for business.
“I like the new size. We have a lot more room,” Hawkins said. “I like the deck. (And) we’re right on the road, rather than being tucked in the back of a dead little shopping center.”
Mudpuppy’s & Jazz Street Grill:
Phone: (434) 385-0100
Mudpuppy’s hours: 4 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Monday through Friday; 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. Saturday and Sunday
Jazz Street’s hours: 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday-Tuesday; 11:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday; 11:30 a.m. to midnight Friday-Saturday; 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.
Vines Café:
Phone: (434) 846-8463
Hours: Tuesday through Sunday. Lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Dinner from 5 to 10 p.m.; bar open until 1:30 a.m. Opening on Mondays in January.
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