Newt's South opens today at 11 a.m., which brings the Currie brothers tally of Rochester restaurants to nine.
Restaurateurs David and Mark Curriebuilt their latest restaurant/bar in front of Rochester's Crossroads Shopping Center.
It's serving the same full Newt's menu that's served at the original downtown Newt's, Newt's North and Newt's Express. However, this new Newt's will have 20 beers on tap, more than the other locations. Plus it will not serve breakfast, as Newt's North does.
The Curries have a team of about 30 staffing the new Crossroads location. That brings the grand total of their Rochester employees to 172. That includes the four Newt's, two City Markets, City Cafe, 300 First and the Redwood Room .
"People seem really excited about it. We've had a steady stream of people coming up to the doors since we put the signs up," said David Currie.
ADVERTISEMENT
They built this new Newt's on the former location of Tasos Psomas' Pannekoeken Huis restaurant between the Andy's Liquorstore and Home Federal Savings Bank.
Tom Grafbought Pannekoeken and demolished it in 2011 with the intention to build a second Buffalo Wild Wings. However, a legal battle with the Crossroads Shopping Center over parking quashed that plan. That's when the Curries came into the picture.
This is the first restaurant they've built from the ground up, though it looks a lot like the unusual, angular Wallins Westbuilding that houses Newt's North . That Newt's opened at 5231 U.S. 52 Frontage Road NW in 2011.
"That was very purposeful," said David Currie on Tuesday. "It is our intention to create brand standard look."
While they haven't decided anything yet, the brothers are mulling over the possibility of opening a Newt's outside of Rochester. Of course, they still have plenty on their plates in Rochester at the moment.
"It keeps us busy," he said. — Jeff Kiger
