The Highway Fewer Traveled: The Harwood District’s Exclusive Tactic to Restaurant Reopening

Even though other individuals in the market scrambled to pivot towards takeout and shipping and delivery, the Harwood District, dwelling to 9 eating places, has taken what has been almost a calendar year of closure to revamp and reevaluate its restaurant enterprise models.

“Together, we initiated a strong renaissance within Harwood Hospitality Team although our ideas were quickly closed,” Harwood Hospitality Team vice president Michael Muskat reported.

With no pressure from landlords—Harwood privately owns and operates all of its properties—the district has been ready to put into practice a phased reopening process preceded by personnel education, menu remakes, new culinary leadership, and inside remodels.

“We closely evaluated every concept’s unique business model, executed various studies, improved our technological innovation, revamped our menus, set up new partnerships, and implemented impressive methods to choose our unforgettable visitor ordeals to the subsequent level,” Muskat claimed.

“In addition to employing our Harwood Cares Programme, other crucial elements that we keep on to elevate in every concept’s small business design incorporate the installation of sophisticated technologies as very well as a further dive into each and every brand’s DNA and how we creatively convey these elements in our type, culinary skills, and much more.”

In May, Harwood reopened its coffee shop strategy, Magnolia Sous Le Pont, and its French bistro strategy, Mercat Bistro, adopted by its bar thought, Happiest Hour, in October 2020. Happiest Hour, which is residence to four bar areas, debuted a rethought, food items-forward menu below Harwood’s new seek the services of, government chef Molly Winkler. Winkler was previously a chef at Plano-based notion Sixty Vines.

“Our mantra is to go large or go home,” Winkler said.

Designs are also underway to wholly redo the Italian concept Dolce Riviera’s menu. The district has brought in Boston hotshot Chef Tom Griffin to oversee the menu remake.

Dolce Riviera’s new Executive Chef Tom Griffin treats the D CEO team to a sneak preview of the Harwood District’s revised menu.

Earlier identified as an rising chief in Zagat’s Boston 30 Underneath 30, Griffin started to make a identify for himself in the meals scene at the (now-shut) Cambridge fave East by Northeast. He went on to be a part of Philip Tang at the snazzy Banyan Bar + Refuge and arrived to Harwood from Boston just after a tenure at Sinatra at Encore Boston Harbor with chef Timothy Hixson. Griffin also will be behind Harwood’s new pan Asian thought, established to open up later this yr.

Harwood released Dolce Riviera to the district in 2016. The restaurant’s primary vision was typical Italian cuisine—take a action back again in time when the Italian and French Rivieras were straightforward however elegant.

“When Dolce Riviera reopens afterwards this summer months, company will love Chef Tom’s new, approachable menu that is more balanced than the concept’s previous renditions. He will carry seasonality, influences from Italy’s Ligurian area, and a substantial emphasis on clean seafood to the forefront of the Dolce Riviera culinary expertise,” Muskat said.

Mercat Bistro opened solely for brunch and lunch in May possibly but not too long ago uncovered a new evening meal menu.

The new menu is 90 p.c property-created and aims to demonstrate “what attendees should really assume from the food served at a concept recognised for its considerable beer and cocktail software,” Muskat said. 

“As places to eat ended up permitted to reopen following the short term shutdown, our insights indicated that quite a few of our visitors felt most cozy with grab-and-go support and limited dine-in ordeals for breakfast and lunch,” Muskat continued.

Harwood listened to the knowledge and built a menu that compliments the restaurant’s passionate ambiance.

“One of my most loved means to explain Mercat Bistro is, ‘We can’t consider you to Paris, but we can get you absent,’ Muskat claimed. “This genuinely distinguishes when you’re at 1 of our 9 restaurants you’re enduring something exterior of the norm, transporting you someplace else.”

Mercat’s all-new evening meal menu was produced by Government Chef Taylor Kearney, an award-winning chef who is well-versed in French cuisine.

Chef Kearney, who educated underneath a lot of notable cooks, including Charlie Palmer, Anne-Sophie Pic, and Thomas Keller, labored on the dinner menu more than the study course of 2020.

“We hope visitors truly feel as if they escaped to Paris and are eating streetside in the ‘City of Enjoy,’” he said.

Highlights on Mercat Bistro’s new dinner menu include fresh options from an oyster bar Poulet Rôti, savory French roast hen with Pommes Frites, cauliflower, and white wine jus Crisp Braised Lamb with common French cassoulet and decadent French desserts such as Clafoutis, Crème Brûlée, and Chocolate Mille-Feuille.

Led by Executive Chef Ty Thaxton, Te Deseo’s culinary menu blends flavors inspired by many areas of Latin The usa, with distinguished influence from Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and Peru. (foodstuff: Rebecca Adler interior: Rob Underwood)

By the close of 2020, Harwood experienced also reopened Marie Gabrielle Cafe and Gardens for non-public gatherings and introduced its new strategy, British pub Harwood Arms. Late-night Latin Bar, Te Deseo, adopted a couple of months ago.

“We are beginning the 12 months with the reopening of our Latin-motivated thought Te Deseo. Upcoming, we’re hunting ahead to reopening a recently renovated Saint Ann Cafe & Bar,” Muskat explained.

 Within a several months, Muskat says all nine Harwood dining places will be up and managing. Lots of of the previously furloughed staff members have returned, and the district is on monitor to meet pre-pandemic staffing amounts.

According to Muskat, a boutique lodge, new hospitality concepts, and retail in other marketplaces will before long be on the way for Harwood, but to start with, a dip into what the district avoided earlier this year—takeout.

“What’s up coming for the restaurant sector is a continued focus on adaptability and diversifying the business design,” Muskat stated. “In the in close proximity to long run, friends will see Harwood Hospitality Group introducing new initiatives for to-go and shipping.”