That New New Westport
Bye-bye, Beaumont
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CHAr bAr
bridger’s bottle sHop
510 Westport Road Niche: An overwhelming selection of craft beers, for taking home or consuming on-site The basics: More than 600 beers from all over the planet, plus a new venture from Alex Pope (Local Pig) called Preservation Market, which will supply meats, cheeses and breads to accompany the suds. The place is named after Jim Bridger, a 19th-century mountain man who did business in Westport back in the day, and the interior is accordingly rustic. “It’s kind of like a liquor store in terms of the way we operate it,” partner Eric Flanagan says. “You just grab beer out of the coolers and either drink it here or bring it home. There won’t be table service, just busers. And there won’t be a lot of six packs — it’ll mostly be mix-and-match six-packs. A lot of craft-beer drinkers don’t want to drop $10 on a six-pack they might not like.” Open: Later this month.
4050 Pennsylvania Niche: Smoked meats and craft beers, plus the old Westport Beach Club patio, from James Westphal and Mark Kelpe (McCoy’s, the Foundry, Beer Kitchen) The basics: Westphal and Kelpe have been keen on craft beers at their restaurants since 1997, when McCoy’s opened for business. Char Bar will continue the tradition and add some bar games to the mix: outdoor pingpong, a foosball table, possibly a croquet course on the patio. “Foodwise, we’re specializing in smoked meats — there’ll be many different styles of KC barbecue represented — but also offering strong vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options, which we believe is important,” Westphal says. “As far as the beers, it’ll be less like McCoy’s, which specializes in its own house-made beers, and more like the Foundry or Beer Kitchen, which celebrate craft beer in a wider way.” Projected opening: September
Fields: Putting down roots.
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the pitch
march 20 -26, 2014
pitch.com
tHe Westport sAloon
4112 Pennsylvania Niche: Folk- and country-music venue, plus comfort food The basics: This space was formerly occupied by Dark Horse Tavern and Torre’s Pizza, which served slices in the back. Now Westport Saloon books a slate of solid local music on its stage, while the kitchen makes dishes such as pork-belly bahn mi and a chickenand-waffles sandwich from Eat Me Gourmet. It’s an upgrade by just about any metric. (We recommend Sunday’s Backsliders Brunch, an all-you-can-eat buffet featuring a bloodymary bar and live gospel music from noon to 4 p.m.) “We’re serving American roots music and whiskey in a comfortable setting, with delicious food to top it all off, and we’re doing it at reasonable prices,” manager Travis Fields says. “That’s pretty much our sales pitch.” Open: Now