The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Two pubs become one local gastropub
Cork Tree Tavern, Cole’s Public House merge into one restaurant in same spot
For the sake of simplicity, two Amherst restaurants now have become one.
Cork Tree Tavern, 209 S. Main St. in Amherst, was dissolved into Cole’s Public House, with both restaurants having shared the same building after being sold and repurchased in 2016.
The restaurant now will operate as one entity with double the seating and both of the restaurants’ staffs, said Robby Lucas, co-owner and executive chef.
“We’re very, very excited,” Lucas said. “I think that was the most important thing that we wanted, to get the message out to the staff is that we’re really not viewing this as a closure.”
Lucas said if anything, the new Cole’s operation will look to hire additional staff in the next three to four weeks.
The tavern’s last day of operation was Aug. 31.
Consolidating the restaurants will help the staff remain focused on a single concept, Lucas said.
“I think it makes it a little bit less confusing for the community and, certainly, quality of life,” he said. “It’s going to be easier on our employees, it’s going to be easier on our management staff and it’s also going to be easier on an upper-management level to just be able to focus on one concept and really putting our best foot forward.”
The transition
Lucas said the restaurants, previously Stubby’s Pub and Grub and Cork’s, was entering their third year under new management when it was decided to absorb them.
This had been the plan since day one, he said.
“For the ease of everything, we had the two concepts very similar from a production standpoint, and from a creative,” Lucas said, adding that both restaurants had worked under the same management, kitchen and ownership.
Now, the chef-driven, European neighborhood gastropub experience will be fitted to the entire business.
Parts of Cork Tree Tavern, however, will live on at the new expanded Cole’s.
Lucas said the menu will be expanded by adding Cork Tree favorites.
The building is undergoing cosmetic renovations to further tie the formerly two restaurants together.
Some of those renovations include adding bar siding to the walls for a “softer” feel and installing another tap bar, Lucas said.
“At the end of the day, this is a beautiful historic building and we want to do it justice,” he said. “We really wanted to take our time and create a design and concept that looked like it fit into the building.”
The concept
Lucas said with the expansion, the mission and brand of Cole’s isn’t changing, only growing.
One of those staples at the restaurant is its wine programs, having won a 2019 Wine Spectator Award of Excellence.
“We really put an emphasis on our wine program, meaning that we’re not just bringing in high-end, expensive bottles,” Lucas said. “We try to find really fun, unique, affordable bottles that maybe turn somebody onto something that they normally wouldn’t have tried.”
The restaurant’s menu caters to a variety of elevated dishes, including cheeseburgers, salads, lobster rolls, mac and cheese, pastas and fish, he said.
It’s also the focus on fresh ingredients, quality food, live music and passion for the restaurant business that sets Cole’s apart in Amherst, Lucas said.
Cole’s marketing director Nicole Lucas, who is Lucas’ wife, said being born and raised in Amherst, she’s proud to be a part of the expansion and vitalization of the downtown area.
“Being from here, I’ve been so excited to be a part of the Amherst community now,” Nicole Lucas said. “It’s changed tremendously in the last seven to 10 years, the downtown area.
“I think it’s so cool to be bringing this kind of atmosphere to my hometown.”
And all it took was a lot of hard work, Robby Lucas said.
“Obviously, we’re very passionate about what we do here,” he said.