Stained 1054 Bistro
Where: 1054 Central Ave., Middletown
Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday
More info: 513-289-2154
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Mark Bursley said his new restaurant, Stained 1054 Bistro, can be another destination location in downtown’s revitalization.
Bursley, who also owns The Red Onion in Monroe, will open the new restaurant today.
“Just like the Red Onion, we’re going to pull from Cincinnati and Dayton, we’re going to be pulling people in and if we can help in anyway to jump start the downtown we’ll be thrilled,” said Bursley, who opens the new restaurant behind the strength of an investment group. “We just think it’s a great town.”
And Stained will support others downtown, namely the revitalization efforts of the Sorg Opera House. All of the bar proceeds from a VIP preview party Saturday were donated to the Sorg Opera Revitalization Group, Bursley said, and a portion of sales of Stained’s house mustard will also support the former opera house.
Stained will seat around 80 to 100 people, which is about twice as big as the Red Onion, Bursley said. The restaurant was initially planned to open last year, but Bursley said “construction took a little longer than I expected.”
“It’s been a while,” he said. “There was a little bit more involved than what I expected. It’s been a challenge, but we worked our way through it.”
Patrick Kay, Downtown Middletown Inc. executive director, said Stained is another foundation block in reconstructing downtown Middletown because retail shops need the draw of restaurants.
“It’s another turning point in the positive revitalization in downtown Middletown,” he said.
Today will launch the restaurant’s soft opening, and it will be a few weeks before the restaurant runs regular lunch and dinner specials, Bursley said.
“We’re just trying to get our feet under us,” he said.
Chef Gary Henz, a former cook at the former Maisonette in Cincinnati and executive chef at Trails End in Dayton, said Stained will feature some of the standard fare popular at The Red Onion, such as the grilled chicken wings and crab cakes. Most of Stained’s menu, however, will be unique to the restaurant, like filet mignon Au Poivre.
Lunch will feature sandwiches, soups and salads.
But everything, Bursley said, “is made to order.”
Stained is a part of BeauVerre at the Square and next to BeauVerre Rirordan Stained Glass, all owned by Jay and Linda Moorman. They have received phone calls every day for months asking when the restaurant will be open.
“Everybody’s real excited,” said Linda Moorman. “This town’s hungry for a new locally owned restaurant, and not a chain.”
Downtown is being marketed as a arts, entertainment and education destination. Jay Moorman said he and his wife had the vision to bring in arts-based businesses — which there currently are eight — to their building that opened a decade ago, and now they have the culinary arts.
“The thing that really gets me excited is that so many citizens, good people that care about Middletown has invested in this and made it all possible,” he said. “It was just a year ago that 15 of us sat down and discussed this.”
The name Stained is a play off the stained glass featured in the shop owned by the Moormans, but one of the highlights of the restaurant, Kay said, is the hand-crafted bar which is repurposed wood from the old First Baptist Church and hand-crafted stained glass.
“If the pope owned a bar, this would be it,” Kay said.
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