Agave & Rye restaurant and bar welcomes its first diners

Credit: CONTRIBUTED

Credit: CONTRIBUTED

Agave & Rye restaurant and bar opened Friday Nov. 27, on Troy’s town square.

The new restaurant is located at 2 N. Market St., in space that formerly housed La Piazza Italian restaurant.

In a Facebook post the day before opening to the public, Agave & Rye posted a photo of the new restaurant’s heated patio.

The first Agave & Rye opened in Covington, Ky. in early 2018. The chain added locations in Liberty Township a year ago and in the Rookwood Center in northern Cincinnati earlier this year. It also operates locations in Lexington and Louisville.

Agave & Rye’s concept has generated some industry buzz: a story published in August 2019 on fsrmagazine.com, which covers the full-service restaurant industry, was headlined: “Agave & Rye’s Ambitious Plan to Open 100 Locations: The spirit-infused bar and restaurant is planning a Midwest takeover.”

Agave & Rye co-founder Yavonne Sarber told this news outlet earlier this year that the Troy restaurant’s customers will have “a total epic experience” at the restaurant. In fact, the word “epic” is used on the Agave & Rye home page to describe the food, drinks and environment, too.

“We want you to not be able to wait until the next time you come back,” Sarber said in an interview.

Each Agave & Rye is in essence a tequila bar and a bourbon bar inside a Mexican-inspired restaurant. The Troy location, like its sister restaurants, will feature a selection of 87 tequilas and 87 bourbons.

The food menu includes 20 specialty double-shell (crunchy corn and soft flour) tacos, including the “Swipe Right Honey,” with lime-grilled chicken, sweet/spicy bacon, aged white cheddar, salsa and sour cream; the “Cat’s Meow White Cheddar,” with grits, Andouille sausage, bourbon shrimp, green onion, jambalaya sauce and crispy bell pepper; the “Crown Jewel,” with butter-poached lobster, shiitake mushrooms, mac ‘n’ cheese, truffle oil and shavings and green onions; and “The Big Thumper,” with peppercorn kangaroo meat, sticky rice, spicy chili and barbecue jam, fried egg and crispy carrots.

A burger and a chicken sandwich also are offered. Citrus juices are squeezed fresh each day, and taco toppings and dips such as guacamole and queso are made in-house daily.

A new menu addition, a duck quesadilla served with Asian slaw, will make its debut in Troy, Sarber said.

The new restaurant has installed Plexiglass between all booths in the Troy restaurant, and takes the temperatures of employees before every shift, Sarber said. Each Agave & Rye offers curbside pickup, and to-go orders can be placed by phone or online at the company’s web site, www.agaveandrye.com. Catering will also be available.

For more information, call 937-552-7110 or check out www.facebook.com/agaveandryetroy.

About the Author