Nick Badovinus Readies to Open His Own Restaurant

Posted on May 27th, 2008 1:36pm by Nancy Nichols
Filed under Restaurant News

img_8740.JPG‘Member Nick Badovinus, the cool-dude chef behind Tristan Simon’s Consilient Restaurants’ curtain? Badovinus left the cozy confines his uber-cool CR gig last December with the wishes, hopes, and dreams of opening his own restaurants. He has big plans for his newly formed company, FlavorHook, but he is smartly starting out small. As we type, Badovinus is meeting with contractors at his first project, tentatively called Neighborhood Services, that will open in old Rouge spot on Lovers just west of Inwood in the early fall. He’s stripping the walls back to the original brick and polishing the concrete floor for his “friendly, urban-rustic North American with a mash up of classic neighborhood default” restaurant. Roughly translated: Rustic Urban Gastro Pub/New American Diner Mash Up. Confused? Think: flatbreads, salads, roasted meats, and here’s the best deal—every day he will whip up 24 roasted chicken dinners and from 5 to 6pm, he’ll offer curbside pickup of said dinners. Sides will change weekly. “I’m all about being user friendly,” said Badovinus. “I want to do a small-footprint, neighborhood-focused, boutique space that is product driven for customer experience. Less shine; more patina.” That’s what he’s talking about.

4 comments

  1. Like Zuni Cafe?

    @ 1:49 pm on May 27, 2008

  2. Nick is a true star in the kitchen and is wise to start slow and small in this uncertain economic atmosphere. The location neither hurts nor especially helps – many others have both failed and succeeded in the immediate vacinity. Those who have made it share Nick’s dedication, vision and hard work ethic. As for the name … well, now Nick, don’t hire any sign painters until you’ve run it by a few more fans who join me in wishing you all the best.

    @ 2:14 pm on May 27, 2008

  3. I suspect (hope) that’s the company name, not the restaurant. But I’ve been wrong before.

    @ 4:22 pm on May 27, 2008

  4. POSSIBLE PR RELEASE: FLAVOR HOOK / neighborhood Services:

    “Where the euphoria of subtle tongue-teaser rhapsodies echo the mystic thunder of latent flavors, savored no less than Gods in mythical grape-lust culinary orgies, thrusting their loins into willing ovens of urban ecstasy.”

    @ 11:58 pm on May 27, 2008