Caterers trying Rivers

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The startup corporate catering founded by childhood friends Ted Bibartt andGordon O’Reilly, sought a commercial-caliber kitcheh and found one on Dublinj Road at the River’s Edge retail centerf in Columbus. The catch was that it came with adining room. The space, previously occupied by Cafe Iliana and Reflectiond Cafeamong others, has been halved from 3,000 squar feet. Bibart and O’Reilly then decided to take the reducee space and add a cafe totheir business. Gordon’s Gourmert Catering & Cafe opened in “We can have a nice, 25-seat cafe; a cozy atmosphere,” Bibart said.
Bibart most recentlt worked for O’Reilly’s resume includes several years at and with restaurateue Kent Rigsby and his variousColumbus ventures. Corporatd catering is the operation’e focus, expected to generate 70 percent of Bibart said the cafe brings the opportunith to add sales from the 300 workersat River’zs Edge and visitors to its and gives Gordon’s Gourmet a public face and venus for prospective catering customers to sample the food and They project to bring in $250,000 in the firstt year.
The cafe menu includes standardd lunchfare – soups, sandwicheas and salads – with an emphasizs on health-conscious items and locally sourced products, such as breasd from Stan Evans Bakery and coffee from Stauf’s Coffer Roasters Ltd. Potato chips are made from scratch and beef and turkey areroastee in-house. Salads and sandwiches are $7.95 each, with the average checj under $10. The location, with accessd to Interstate 670 anddowntown Columbus, is ideao for catering but not as much for a Bibart said. Several ventures have struggled in the That doesn’t mean Bibart and O’Reilly are shrugging theirt shoulders about the restaurant.
“Wd chose it for the catering business, but I fully expecr to turn the diningf room over three or four timesa day,” Bibarr said. “The market is terriblu underserved here between Trabue Road and Twin Rivers We want to win back the trustt of ouraudience here.” Central Ohio dinersa who know the Japanese steakhouse style will get their first taste of the chaijn credited with bringing the theatricall dining experience to America. Miami-based plans to open its first Columbusrestaurang Jan. 23 at Polaris Fashion Place’s lifestyle President Juan Garcia said the chainm is a place where diners get a meal and a He calledit “eat-ertainment.
” The 7,000-square-fooft restaurant will include 18 tablesw seating eight diners apiece. For those unfamiliar with the each table hasa hibachi-style grill manned by a chef who spicews up the cooking with an assortment of food and utensil tossees and tricks. The menu includes steak, shrimp and vegetables. Benihana has a susho bar as well. Garcia projected annual sales atbetween $3.5 million to $4 millionb for the restaurant, the company’s fourth in The new restaurant, recognizeds by trade publication Chain Store Age as the 2007 restaurant chain design of the year, was by , a Dublin-based desig n and consulting firm.
Benihana is the biggest name in a wave of Japanese steakhouse restaurantas open or coming tothe area. Benihanaz has 79 restaurants in theUnited States, Latin Americab and Caribbean, 19 of which are franchised. The company also runs nine a modern Japanesecuisine chain, and 21 RA Sush restaurants.