Chef David Clancy will be manning the kitchen at H.M. Frank's, the O'Shea's Public House opening soon in Jeffersonville.

The building in 1982.

It's roughly two months shy of ten years since Bistro New Albany opened. It was when so many of us first got to know David Clancy.

The intervening decade has seen many ups, down and ups for Chef Clancy, and damn, it's wonderful to hear that he'll be opening Tom O Shea's latest venture on Spring Street in Jeffersonville.

If you've seen what Tom did rehabbing Patrick O'Shea's in Louisville, then you know to expect quality work at H.M. Frank's.

By the way, Tom: All Indiana-brewed beers on those taps, okay?

PUB TALK: Jeffersonville O'Shea's opening within weeks, by Elizabeth Beilman (Jeffersonville Picayune)

JEFFERSONVILLE — Tom O'Shea stripped 100 years worth of walls and flooring from the inside of 355 Spring St. What he found underneath was wood floors and deep-red brick — the ghost of the original H.M. Frank's Dry Goods Store from the 1890s.

The old store is the inspiration behind the Jeffersonville twist on O'Shea's, a popular Irish pub with roots in Louisville, called H.M. Frank's: An O'Shea's Public House.

Many New Albanian readers will remember this name ...

Chef David Clancy — who has an expansive background in cooking in restaurants from California to Lilly's Bistro in Louisville — will run the kitchen. He wants to keep specials "fresh and exciting."

"What we're looking to do is not over the top," Clancy said, as kitchen space is limited. "At the same time, I think we can put some really good, highly nuanced food there."

Clancy is partnering with local farms to source ingredients. Expect house-ground beef or locally sourced cheese charcuterie platters.

Local restaurants "join the fight against addiction" to "raise money for The Healing Place."

July 22 is the date:

Dine Out and Support THP!

Join us on July 22nd as dozens of Louisville restaurants join the fight against addiction and raise money for The Healing Place.

Thus far, the only Southern Indiana restaurant on this list is Bread and Breakfast (157 E. Main Street in New Albany). Thanks, Laura.

My friend David "Bistro New Albany" Clancy's life quite possibly was saved by this program, and when he contacted me earlier this year, I recommended NABC's participation in the event. Perhaps the memo got lost in the tall grass.

Sorry if it offends anyone, but bluntness is merited here: Substance abuse is an occupational hazard of the restaurant industry, period. If you've been part of this business, you know exactly what I mean. Please do what you can to support THP, either by dining out on the 22nd, donating directly, or just helping get the word out.

Restaurants tackle addiction among workers, by Jere Downs (Courier-Journal)

Rampant substance abuse in the restaurant industry has sparked the upcoming “86 Addiction” event, whereby dozens of local eateries will donate 10 percent of their proceeds Wednesday to help The Healing Place.

Five years ago: Bistro New Albany closes.

I've never forgotten when Bistro New Albany closed, or how rotten I felt, although I had forgotten that it came just after Harvest Homecoming.

October 17, 2007: R.I.P.: Bistro New Albany.

It's remarkably easy for people who can do no better than "start up" the occasional rag picker's business or do contracting work without permits to understand how difficult a genuine paradigm shift is to achieve. All of downtown New Albany currently is engaged in that paradigm shift, and it's a work in progress that unfortunately will have its ups and downs. Bistro New Albany's demise is a downer, but within it are seeds of positive developments.

The Windsor was next in the space vacated by Bistro New Albany, to be followed by Habana Blues (in 2010). During the same period of time, there have been at least five occupants of the Bergman Building's retail space (Louis le Francais is the most recent). Connor's Place (at two locations), Studio's, Steinert's and Speakeasy have come and gone. As I've often suggested, combining the restaurant business with downtown revitalization is a wartime scenario, and we have an attrition rate to prove it. But the waves to follow have showed staying power.

And none of them, not one, has anything on David Clancy and what he achieved, facing tremendous obstacles, with bNA from early 2006 through late 2007. He was a pioneer. Thank him when you see him.

NA Exchange on the North Side opens tonight.

Previously, NAC let this particular cat out of the bag, but I'm compelled to point to NA Exchange and tout a second time for two reasons.

First, as a measure of how wonderful it is to have Dave Clancy back in New Albany, and optimistic that Ian's and Dave's establishment add to steadily improving dining choices in the area.

I'll come to the second in just a moment.

MYbar no more, NA Exchange opens tonight; Restaurant and pub retooled to offer high-quality food, by Daniel Suddeath (News & Tribune)

The night club concept of the former MYbar has been scrapped by owner Ian Hall in favor of a full-service restaurant that opens tonight at the same location.

Revamped to offer high-quality food along with entertainment, the bar and restaurant is now dubbed The NA Exchange. It’s tucked off Grant Line Road in a shopping center near The New Albanian Brewing Co. Pizzeria and Pub.

Hall said he considered moving his business downtown prior to closing MYbar about two weeks ago, but decided on restoring the existing property.

“At the end of the day, we just thought it made sense to stay here and try to develop this area,” Hall said.

I met with Ian in the run-up to NA Exchange's opening tonight, and we chatted briefly about the neighborhood, by which I mean the retail area in which we're both doing business. While it's true that the past few years have diverted my attention downtown, and downtown is a job not yet finished, it remains that NABC's plan all along has been to refurbish our original digs on Plaza Drive -- an effort now underway with the smoking rules change.

In short, all of us doing business in our Grant Line Road environs need to think of it as an entertainment/dining district. My personal shorthand to describe it is North Side, which is geographically apt, although I'm open to better ideas.

In the future, when our stretch of Grant Line Road is reconditioned by its new owner, the city of New Albany, it would be wonderful if sidewalks (scandalously neglected back in the 90's during a previous refitting) and pedestrian crossings would connect Famous Recipe/El Nopal with NA Exchange with the rest of us on Plaza Drive.

In fact, recognizing that while the entire corridor was constructed as an automotive conduit, but always has connected Indiana University Southeast with Sam Peden Community Park, there is a strong case to be made for making roughly two miles of it both pedestrian and bicycle friendly, enhancing the experience for visitors and residents with cars parked.

Is it asking too much for 2011 mayoral candidates to address this thought?

In closing: Best of luck to NA Exchange. See you when there's time, guys.

NA Exchange coming to MyBar space off Grant Line Road.

The basic facts: A new dining and drinking establishment will be opening soon just down the street from NABC's Pizzeria & Public House, at 3306 Plaza Drive, by the railroad track, clearly visible from Grant Line Road.

Ian Hall has closed MyBar, and feverishly is remodeling the space into a full servive restaurant to be called NA Exchange. For those of you who still regret the passing of Bistro New Albany, know that Ian's chef will be none other than Dave Clancy, returning to New Albany in a professional capacity for the first time since 2007.

This is great news for the Northside of town. Following are Chef Clancy's comments at the Louisville Restaurants Forum.

... We are in the process of re-tooling what used to be MyBar, right by Roger's digs. It will be a full service restaurant and bar featuring upscale but approachable cuisine (imagine BBC and Bank Street, and we fall in between that).

We are planning an extensive App/Bar menu and less entrees than at my old dive downtown with nothing over $20 but multiple micro brews (including a few of NABC's). What we are looking at doing is adding a nice dining option to that demographic just looking for a gnash or a full on dinner in a pub type atmosphere ... a "gastropub" of sorts. Projected opening is early January but you know as well as I that things often get derailed and postponed (I got hosed on many fronts opening my old place).

Regardless, this is the kind of project that I enjoy the most as it allows me to think outside the box and give folks what I believe they want and I know we can deliver. I think that Ian and I will make a great team, a great venue, and a great dining option for everyone! Thank you all for your support and wish us luck!