A Tulsa-based restaurant touting craft cocktails, third-wave coffee and all-day breakfast is coming to St. Paul's South St. Anthony Park neighborhood this month.
Noah Bush and Chip Gabarino — who specialize in restaurants and coffee, respectively — started Hodges Bend in Tulsa in 2013 when they felt like most spots in town had some critical flaw.
"Some places had a great wine list, but the food was terrible. Or some places were doing really great food but the wine was terrible," Bush said. "And it was the same thing with coffee. We just decided to start a bar where you could get everything really well made."
Now, they're bringing the same product to 2700 W. University Av. in St. Paul.
"I really love the energy of the city," Bush said. "Everything is always busy and there are a lot of young people walking around, eating and drinking. And the people – everyone is really nice."
The menus at Hodges Bend, which expects to open Jan. 18, will remain the same as the original: classic-inspired cocktails and punches, a substantial wine list (Bush is a certified sommelier) and dishes such as burgers, poutines, pork rinds and shepherd's pie — along with coffee and breakfast all day.
The coffee featured will be Gabarino's Topeca — a rare seed-to-cup brand that is grown on his family's farms in El Salvador and Brazil, imported by them to the U.S. and then brewed in shops. Expect pour-over varieties along with espresso drinks.
But the vibe in a space boasting a marble bar, jazz on the stereo and plush banquettes, Bush said, is yet to be determined.
"[In Tulsa], it's just really chill and inviting in the morning, and it gets pretty fun at night," he said. "But I believe a bar is an organism, it starts to become what it is with the people that frequent it."
