All too often, a night out for ethnic grub in suburbia brings to mind plates piled high with nachos, non-descript sauces and Monterey Jack cheese. A new restaurant chain out of the Cleveland area wants to bring a spicier alternative to the suburban carb fest for Annapolis diners.
Paladar Latin Kitchen and Rum Bar will open in a 7,000-square-foot restaurant at Annapolis Towne Centre sometime in mid-August. It's just the second location for the business, which aims to be a national chain someday, says Andy Himmel, managing member.
Those expansion plans include building three to four additional Paladar restaurants in Greater Baltimore and Washington, D.C., over the next few years, Himmel says.
In addition to the new location in Annapolis, there are also plans to expand into a dozen other markets. According to Himmel, they're looking for locations in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic, including Chicago, Pittsburgh and Birmingham, Mich.
The Annapolis market offers educated, high-income residents that appealed to Paladar executives. The median home cost in Annapolis is $358,570 and nearly 40 percent of its residents possess a Bachelor's degree or higher, compared with 22 percent of the general U.S. population.
Many Latin American concept restaurants are smaller, locally owned, and located in more urban communities. What sets Paladar apart is it's business model that takes their ceviche and empanadas to the bedroom communities.
"Our intention is to offer suburban [baby] boomers, the creative class, an alternative to the regular chain options," Himmel says. "It's a great, fun night out. You don't have to go downtown."
Menu items at the Woodmere, Ohio, restaurant include plantain and pumpkin-seed crusted tilapia, for $16.95, and seared tuna served over a yucca cake, for $23.50.
The restaurant will be located near the mall's Gordon Biersch Brewery. The new restaurant will add 70 new jobs to the local economy.
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Source: Andy Himmel, Paladar Latin Kitchen and Rum Bar
Writer: Julekha Dash