Kiger's Notebook

John Hardy's + ex-Roscoe's @ Cedarwood

I realize this is already common knowledge. Many people have posted comments or sent me e-mails about John Hardy's Bar-B-Q opening a third Rochester location in the restaurant building in front of the Cedarwood Square Plaza.

I'll just chime in and say, 'yeah, that's right.'

That's the spot vacated by Roscoe's Barbeque Rootbeer and Ribs at the end of May.

I have been trying to contact the good folks at John Hardy's for a few weeks on this. Most of the employees say they do not know any details. One manager is aware of the plan, but has been very busy. 

Hopefully, I'll get the meat on this one before it burns on the grill.

Meaty tidbits - 2 Roch. eateries cooking

With all of the chaos related to Rochesterfest and then being out of the office last week, I missed out on the opening of a couple of the eateries that are heating things up for the local carnivore crowd.

One, predictably, is Meatheads Meats and Deli in the former Taco John’s/Great Steak Escape building on the U.S. 52 frontage road just off of 41st Street Northwest.

The deli/ butcher shop spin off of a Red Wing business is open and serving.

The other one is the new Roscoe's Express in the Chateau Center, just south of Chateau Theaters at North Broadway and 37th Street in northeast Rochester. This is the space that has been empty since the TCBY yogurt place closed its doors in 2007.

I'm kind of surprised the gregarious owner of Roscoe's, Steve Ross, didn't give me a call when this spot started serving food. He must have been working on a new celebrity sandwich.

A spark @ Westfire? Could it get license back?

Word on street is that talks will soon be underway to possibly stir Westfire Grille's barely glowing embers back into a blaze.

Someone interested in taking over the management of the northwest Rochester bar is talking with the owner and the city, which revoked its liquor license recently.

If a plan can be hammered out, a proposal to regain the troubled club’s liquor license could go to the Rochester City Council.

Newt's Express preps for opening

Lunch in downtown Rochester today disproved an old axiom. 

A long line of downtown workers did get a free lunch as the crew at the new Newt's offshoot – Newt's Express - did a dress rehearsal with lots of hot hamburgers for anyone walking by.

The new space designed to become a hot spot for quick burger for lunch sports lots of wood and brick reflecting the classic style of the historic Oddfellows building in which the eatery was crafted.

Expect the styling of the original Newt's with all of the pics on wall, big windows and whatnot. The big difference is expect it to be brighter than the twilight-feeling bar above City Cafe.

I chatted with Jerry Zubay and Mike Currie, the guys behind the Creative Cuisine stable of Rochester eateries - Newt’s Bar, City Café, 300 First, Redwood Room, Culinary Market. Both retired last year, but it didn't stick for long.

Right now and their families have lots of stuff cooking with the new Newt's, the soon-to-open Pi Pizza and ZZest Culinary Market.

On Thursday, they had a booth at Thursdays on First, one at Rochesterfest and a crew putting the finishing touches - like a neon sign - on the Newt's Express space.

Spring Grove eatery to re-open

Here's a tidbit I noticed in the Spring Grove Herald written by Marlene Deschler:

Soon the taste buds of Spring Grove will again be tempted with homemade foods at the new Temptations at 131 W. Main St. in downtown Spring Grove.

Jimi Bajrami and his fiancée Brittany Pistono plan to open their restaurant in the Temptations building in early July. They are planning a full lunch and dinner menu with a wide variety of items.

"We are really excited about the food we have to offer the people of Spring Grove and the area," remarked Pistono. "We make a lot of homemade items from gravies to soups to beer-breaded appetizers; a lot of time goes into the food we prepare."

At this time, Temptations will not be open for breakfast; however, they will have breakfast options on their menu that will be available all day. 

The couple will be serving sandwiches, pork tenderloins, beer-breaded cauliflower and mushrooms, soups, steaks, and pastas, as well as many other items in their family-friendly restaurant.

My defeat in ice cream eating smackdown

You know how the buzz during the Olympics was that Michael Phelps had an ideal body type to be a swimmer.

I would say that KTTC's weather guru Ted Schmidt is genetically the perfect ice cream-eating machine.'

What he does to a block of ice cream reminds one of what a crocodile does to an unsuspecting wildebeast. It is devastating, violent and decisive. 

Anyway, I need to tip my cap to Schmidt for his decisive win in the pseudo-celebrity ice cream eating contest last night at the Possibilities  Ice Cream social.

By the way, Mayor Ardell Brede was the mystery contestant and he held his own well. 

It was a perfect night for it and the ice cream itself was a great prize that I really enjoyed once I was allowed to use a bowl and a spoon.

By the way, watch for an announcement later today about my next ... uh...unusual... public appearance coming up on Wednesday.

And the best thing is I'm opening it up as opportunity for one of my loyal blog readers to get their own chance in the spotlight.

It will not be messy, I promise.

Last day for Lewiston grocery

Here's some from a good piece by my colleague John Weiss about the last day of Lewiston's only grocery store. Find the full story here.

Nearly all the 24 Malt-O-Meal bins were empty, refrigerated dairy cases had but a few gallons of milk, many shelves of Wiens Food Center were bare Friday.

At 6 p.m. Saturday, the only grocery store in Lewiston will close. Scott Wiens, who owns it with his wife LouAnn, said he can’t get enough business with the store its present size and can’t afford to expand to compete with bigger stores nearby. 

Any remaining food will be sold to Mike’s, another independent grocery store, in St. Charles.

It means people will have to drive at least 12 miles or more for most of their groceries.

But three people at the store Friday said the closing means more than extra driving time. It means a harder time to raise money for FFA, fewer jobs and a harder time for Vickie Luehmann to bake Christmas cookies.

For Natalie Schumann, the closing means she will have more time on her hands this summer. She will be a senior at Lewiston-Altura High School next year and planned to work at Wiens again this summer. 

Vickie Luehmann said she began shopping there since it opened 18 years ago. “Certainly it’s a loss to our community,” she said. “Scott really bent over backwards to get things.”

Hormel's new "MegaMex" deal

Here's some from a press release this a.m. from Austin's favorite Fortune 500 company:

Hormel Foods and Herdez Del Fuerte today announced a definitive agreement to create MegaMex Foods, a 50/50 joint venture to market Mexican foods in the United States.:

The venture will significantly expand the existing agreement between the
two companies and produces a portfolio with initial revenue of about $200
million. The comprehensive portfolio includes brands and products, such as CHI-CHI’S®,  HERDEZ®, LA VICTORIA®, EMBASA® and DOÑA MARÍA®, among others, which resonate with Mexican-American and mainstream consumers of Mexican foods.

“This expanded, long-term agreement with Herdez Del Fuerte is an example of how we continue to look to diversify our product portfolio,” said
Jeffrey M. Ettinger, chairman of the board, president and chief executive
officer at Hormel Foods. “MegaMex Foods will have the scale and skill set
to establish leadership in Mexican foods and grow the category. The
collaboration should allow us to better serve both the growing U.S.
Hispanic population and the vast numbers of the general population who love Mexican food.”

“MegaMex Foods will combine the premier Mexican food products and brands of Herdez Del Fuerte with the strength in manufacturing and distribution of Hormel Foods,” said Juan Marco Gutiérrez Wanless, chairman at Herdez Del Fuerte. “This is an important step toward delivering on our ongoing growth and profitability strategy and making us stronger for the future, as we increase presence nationwide.”

In order to provide focus to the business, MegaMex Foods will be a
free-standing entity with an independent management team based in Chino, Calif. MegaMex Foods will optimize efficiencies by leveraging core
competencies of the parent companies, such as manufacturing, research and development and the supply chain.

Zubays get ZZest-y

Ever see an out-of-the-ordinary food item on a store shelf and wonder how it would taste or even what you would do with it?

The Rochester culinary scene’s well-known Zs — LeeAnn and Jerry Zubay — have a plan to serve up answers to shoppers looking for a taste of the uncommon.

It won’t happen until August at least, but the plan is to open a specialty grocery — ZZest Culinary Market — in the former Avocado’s World Bistro space at 1190 16th St. S.W. in the Apache Shoppes shopping center. 

The Zubays were originally behind City Cafe, Newt’s, 300 First, City Market and the Redwood Room in downtown Rochester.

This part of ZZest will be an expansion of the Culinary Market LeeAnn Zubay opened in the little building near the 300 First restaurant last year. She has specialty cheeses, meats, salts, chutneys, jellies and spices as well as “adventurous ingredients” on the shelves in the First Avenue store. 

“I am just finding such awesome stuff, and I just want to bring more things in,” she said of the move from the small downtown store into the huge-by-comparison 2,700-square-foot space.

About a month after the shelves fill up at the new ZZest, the Zubays plan to open a cafe with counter service to offer appetizers, sandwiches, lunch and dinner, as well as beer and wine.

“If you are interested in what this little jar of pomegranate chutney would taste like, you will be able to try it out because is we used it on the No. 4 sandwich,” says Jerry Zubay.

While there are still a lot of details to be worked out, also look for possible cooking classes and special tasting events where one ingredient is used in every course from appetizer to dessert.

Andy's Express fermenting @ Roch.'s CC Manor

Work is progressing on Andy Chafoulias' new Andy's Express liquor store in the former BP Pump and Munch at 82 36th Ave. N.W. at the entrance to Rochester's Country Club Manor neighborhood.

Popped by there this morning and the guys were doing a bit of painting. It looks like it is being turned into a sharp store.

Last time (a few weeks ago) I talked to Titan Ventures (formerly Chafoulias Cos.), Controller Jamie Radke said the final plans for the property had not been locked in yet.

My guess is that the decision to be a liquor store is now done.

And in other Pump and Munch news, the last one standing - South Broadway and 16th Street - was completely out of Coke products Sunday. Seemed unusual. 

Could they be stocking less or not re-stocking at all? 

Or could the Coke truck have just missed a delivery and it is not a clue to anything out of the ordinary?

Last time (a few weeks ago) I talked to Titan Ventures (formerly Chafoulias Cos.), Controller Jamie Radke said the final plans for the property had not been locked in yet.

My guess is that the decision to be a liquor store is now done.

And in other Pump and Munch news, the last one standing - South Broadway and 16th Street - was completely out of Coke products Sunday. Seemed unusual. 

Could they be stocking less or not re-stocking at all? 

Or could the Coke truck have just missed a delivery and it is not a clue to anything out of the ordinary?

Last time (a few weeks ago) I talked to Titan Ventures (formerly Chafoulias Cos.), Controller Jamie Radke said the final plans for the property had not been locked in yet.

My guess is that the decision to be a liquor store is now done.

And in other Pump and Munch news, the last one standing - South Broadway and 16th Street - was completely out of Coke products Sunday. Seemed unusual. 

Could they be stocking less or not re-stocking at all? 

Or could the Coke truck have just missed a delivery and it is not a clue to anything out of the ordinary?