Why in the world would it take five to six years to open a new restaurant and who would have the patience and stamina to see a project like that through? Folks in and around Hendersonville, NC jokingly (in a nice way) refer to it as “the restaurant that never opens”.
Well . . . I’ve been following co-owners Bobby and Layla Rogers’ progress during the buildout, talking to them along the way, and taking photos inside and on the rooftop after major changes had taken place. And it’s about to happen. They’re talking “opening by year end”.
You’ve heard it before – they’ll be opening soon, but things are happening that are traditionally final steps before a restaurant opens. The Fire Marshal has done his inspection and determined maximum occupancy, the ABC permit filing is happening imminently, and legal papers regarding the business/restaurant name were filed today.
Speaking of the restaurant name, that’s also been a point of discussion for a long time around town. Bobby and Layla put out a teaser a while back, saying the name had five letters. My husband, friends, and I came up with our top picks: “D’layd”, “Later”, and “Fin-l-y” (with a long “i”).
They’re planning some private test runs to check for any possible kinks in the kitchen, with service, etc., and to be sure they’ve developed best practices for smooth operation before they open to the public.
They’ve filled some positions, but are still looking for people who want to become part of the team: “We are looking for professionally-minded, skilled people who seek a place [where] they can be part of something greater than themselves while being rewarded for their individual skills in the fast-paced environment of a restaurant.”
Interested? Find the link to a digital application download on their Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Shine-Restaurant-Bar-722379678120177/ Mail the completed application to shinehendersonville@gmail.com OR, email them if you have questions or want to request a digital application that way rather than downloading from their Facebook Page. My personal opinion is that Bobby will be a no-nonsense boss with high expectations, but one that treats employees that meet those expectations with loyalty and a long-term commitment.
I’m thrilled that Bobby and Layla took the time to answer burning questions people have been asking. Read through them to learn lots of interesting and exciting details about the new restaurant – including tentative open date and the name!
Q. What are you most proud of when you think about your new restaurant?
We believe what we are most proud of is yet to come. Building a design-specific location for the purpose of a restaurant has been an incredible learning experience. Seeing how it functions when it’s full of people will be the final chapter – the part where you say “next time I’d change this or that”. To say we are most proud of this moment might be premature. Although we are thrilled with the way the space has turned out.
Q. How would you describe your restaurant’s décor?
Strangely enough it was the desire to have rooftop dining and entertainment that shaped a lot of the interior décor. With rooftop space comes rooftop construction and the only kind of construction that holds lots of people moving around at once in a commercial environment is steel – and lots of it. There are more than 40 steel columns and beams that we put together inside and outside the original building envelope. Partly to reinforce the hundred-year-old building but mostly to provide a modern, code-approved rooftop deck space. In order to install the new steel skeleton, we removed all the interior floors and walls. After the steel was installed, we had a gutted out old brick building with a lot of new steel beams and a pile of old growth heart pine boards. So, the basis of our interior decor is steel, brick, and heart pine. We added some early 1900s finishes like hex and block subway tile, Edison bulbs and some timeless industrial lighting to craft a place that is both at once, elegant and comfortable.
Q. Do you know who your Executive Chef will be?
No, but with Bobby’s extensive training and years in restaurant kitchens we already have some specific candidates in mind and will begin hiring at the end of October.
Q. Will you have a Chef’s Table?
We have a table directly adjacent to the hot and cold food lines in the middle of a certain amount of controlled chaos. Not the kind of table where you propose to your date. More like an eight-seat high top table that could cause vertigo from all the stimulation. Think less like “Lady and the Tramp”, more like “Kitchen Confidential”. If the excitement of the kitchen is something you like or would like to try, we have a place for you. Standard menu, specialty menu or special requests honored, if possible.
Q. What is different or special about your kitchen?
We’re not so sure different or special is what is important. Our kitchen is professionally designed to work for our number of seats. It is equipped with the ability to bake, broil, poach, steam, smoke, roast, sous vide, grill, fry, sauté, sear, braise, pressure cook, or almost any combination of these cooking methods at high volumes. It is designed with a “front exhibition” style line and a back portion where staff can “cook all day long or all week long”. We won’t bring in any pre-packaged products. There will constantly be items in process: long braises, stocks and curing recipes that take days and weeks to accomplish.
Q. What kind of food will be on your menu?
Something for everyone. We will change our menu both seasonally and inspirationally. We will have everything from biscuits and gravy to foie gras, well-balanced salads and sandwiches to hand cut steaks and seafood. A menu that allows a casual working lunch, weekly family dinners and intimate or celebratory weekend meals.
Q. Will you be sourcing locally?
We will focus first on quality, next on local, then regional and seasonal.
Q. What’s up on your rooftop?
Sunshine & moonlight. We are very excited to have the opportunity to bring rooftop dining to Hendersonville. The rooftop space offers approximately 3,000 square feet of outdoor dining and indoor staff support areas along with 2 restrooms, all with our beautiful Historic Courthouse as a backdrop.
Q. Will you have a full bar?
Yes! One on every level complete with 24 taps each and set up for full bar service.
Q. Do you have an event space? What’s the capacity?
We do have a nice space downstairs with a separate entrance at the rear of the building, dedicated restrooms, and bar. This area is also equipped with overhead projector, sound and lighting to hold meetings, continuing education classes, private parties, music and the like.
Q. What’s the restaurant’s capacity?
Total capacity is 300. The rooftop can hold no more than 148. And we don’t have the certificates in front of us, but think the event space can hold about 50 for a sit-down event with the number closer to 100 for a standing event.
Q. Will you be serving craft cocktails? Craft/local beers?
We will train experienced staff in making house cocktails that contain fresh mixes made in our kitchen. We choose to make them because we believe they are better than what we can buy and appreciate the natural factor (no preservatives). The bar has different ice sizes/shapes. If that means we will have craft cocktails, then yes! We look forward to providing a bar program that showcases properly crafted cocktails and an array of wines, all centered around a neighborly price point. We also have 24 taps on 3 floors curated by a Level 5 beer nerd. We are fortunate enough to have convinced Chris Nevel to stop driving to his top brewery job in Asheville and join us in Management of our beautiful, shiny new place.
Q. Will you have sidewalk seating?
Spring 2019 – we do have plans to work toward sidewalk dining for our guests who enjoy people-watching and dining with their furry friends.
Q. What’s the name of your restaurant?
Shine! The name is Shine! Moonshine, Sunshine but even more so, Shine in all you do. Let’s all let our light Shine, kind of thing.
Q. And the question on EVERYONE’s mind, why has it taken so long to open? What have you been doing all this time?
All-in-all we used a small group of local artisans to build a 10,000 square foot commercial project which gave us the most control over the quality. It did, however, come at a cost of time. First, we historically renovated the exterior of the building, including removing multiple layers of paint from the 3 outside walls. It might also interest people to know that we dug a 5,000 square foot basement out of a historic Main Street building where one didn’t previously exist. The only person who has been with us from the beginning and oversaw most of the construction, Eric McCollom, has agreed to remain a part of this team and move into the restaurant phase of the project along with us.
Q. Anything else you’d like to add?
Some words we thought might never come…. “We are looking for professionally-minded, skilled people who seek a place they can be part of something greater than themselves while being rewarded for their individual skills in the fast-paced environment of a restaurant.”
Thank you to those who have given hours of hard work, kind words, support and excitement. We hope to bring a wonderful cornerstone to our town. It is our joy to be a part of this community and we look forward to serving.
Shine
202 N. Main St
Hendersonville, NC 28739
