The stage has been reset to reveal a darker, cozier tavern offering classic cocktails and affordable steaks from lunch through late night, seven days a week.īy day, sunlight filters through west-facing blinds, casting patterns on green-and-white checkered tablecloths as patrons bite into juicy burgers and creative salads. Yet you’d never know the restaurant’s previous incarnation the only vestige is the expansive blonde bar-top and gorgeously rough-hewn thick wood flooring. And in its place sprung Little Jack’s Tavern. Alban closed (or at least was shelved for relocation, we hope). People followed, venturing into territory above Calhoun Street-and north of the Crosstown-where, in the not-too-distant past, there were few dining establishments. Bit by bit, Reitz and Mink scattered tasty crumbs up King Street. Alban, a windowless cement-block warehouse transformed into an ultra-trendy, light-filled coffee shop. Leon’s, his first venture with business partner Tim Mink, morphed an old autobody shop into a bustling den of culinary cool, the kind of place that makes you feel hip just by entering. Restaurateur Brooks Reitz is a bit of a magician, able to convert nondescript spaces into seemingly timeless venues.
