Saturday, March 14, 2009

Exhaustion and pride.

Thanks to everyone who came out to sample the Bank Street Brewhouse yesterday afternoon and evening. It was a fine start for us, and we'll be working to iron out the kinks as the next stage (brewery installation and exterior work) begins.

I apologize about the food/kitchen confusion yesterday. I was confused, too. I did a fairly poor job of articulating the lunch time vs. dinner time information, and we hadn't quite gotten an "interim" snack menu in place ... then, to top it off, we ran through a big volume of edibles at lunch with no time to prep the evening.

Chef Josh let most of the kitchen crew go home and sleep, and put together an impromptu evening menu of soup and a cheese plate that went over quite well. The beer was flowing freely, and the atmosphere was festive.

In the context of our previous experience, the Bank Street project throws a few curveballs. We've always done a day-long pizza and sandwich menu; now, at Bank Street, we have a kitchen and a creative menu that make different demands in terms of time, and with the way that I must conceptualize the marketing plan. It'll take a couple of weeks, but we'll get there. Tuesday through Saturday will be lunch and dinner menus, with snacks (cheese plate, etc) in between. Sunday will be a different (and currently evolving) plan for the food, perhaps a lighter bill of fare (salads, soups) for YMCA patrons and weekend bicyclists.

NABC beer, Southern Indiana wines, a small list of selected spirits and craft sodas will be available at all hours.

Ironically, with my out-of-town guest Kim in tow, and seeking to expose him to as many good things as possible over the weekend, we actually left Bank Street Brewhouse early Friday evening and went to La Rosita's to dine. We could do this because the staff was completely on task, which feels good.

Rosita's was packed, too, and in all three seating areas. The food was wonderful as always.

Thanks again for the support. We have plenty of work to do, and are exceedingly optimistic about the prospects.

8 comments:

Highwayman said...

MY bad!

I forgot to include La Rosita's in my previous post.

I probably did because it seems to be packed regardless of the day or time and as such reminders of its existence aren't needed as much!

The ommision was not intentional!

jon faith said...

Many thanks,
we enjoyed our visit to Bank Street Wednesday evening. I was planning to swinging by tomorrow but am again somewhat submerged by ague. I do look forward to such on Sundays to come. Quick question: will the Fox Soccer Channel monopoly be on impasse during the NBA Playoffs?

jon faith said...

that's "planning on," of course

edward parish said...

RAB, thanks again for the offer, I'll be there soon. Dogfishhead and Rogue Spirits?

Bayernfan said...

Fox Soccer Channel should take a backseat to nothing else...unless, of course, it's GolTV or ProSieben (for Bundesliga action)...

The New Albanian said...

Ed - yes, if we can get them .

Unknown said...

I also have a suggestion that Develope New Albany might run an ad in LEO in the dining section listing the bars and eatiing places that are now in downtown New Albany. Perhaps that would attract some of the Highland crowd to give us a look. It's not as far as it looks from there to here. I've made the trip there and back a million times.

Unknown said...

My original post apparently did not make it bcause I had no google account. I id want to say congratulations on the opening of the Bank Street Brewhouse. I have been watching the construction and soft openings as I would drive by on Bank Street each evening. I also wanted to say that I really enjoy reading the Blog, NA Confidential. I don't always agree with everything said, but, again that is the point isn't it.