Many would say, “The bar has come home to where it belongs,” at 221 Main Restaurant & Cocktail House in downtown St. Joseph.
Late last week 221 owners Robert and Tawn Montgomery opened a newly imaged and redecorated bar area on the North end of their 221 Main bar and restaurant complex. The bar returns to the ‘Post Office end’ of the building, from which it moved several years ago in a total makeover that included adding a full-scale second floor dining room, bar, and outside terrace to the 221 Main experience.
At that time, the 221-bar moved to a smaller space on the South end, at Main & Pleasant Streets. It never quite worked in that location, with fewer seats and a squeezed in feel, while the other 221 improvements thrived. So, when the Montgomery’s decided to add a ‘nicer breakfast place’ under their 221 banner, it just made sense to put the bar back in the available space where it had originally been.
The results are striking! Perfect lighting highlights a roomy but still cozy and comfortable atmosphere that feels upscale but not pretentious. There’s a medium-length bar that showcases 221’s incredible variety of fine whiskies. Ample dining area in the back for groups of varying sizes who prefer to dine in a pub or informal atmosphere. Intimate ‘two-top’ tables along the bar wall that are perfect for busy couples enjoying dinner. And a ‘living room’ area with lounge furniture in the alcove by the front door, perfect for casual conversations with a small group.
Two video screens behind the bar allow guests to keep an eye on their favorite team, however it’s not a sports bar. It’s more about enjoying the people you’re with, an excellent cocktail, and a great dinner. 221’s main food menu is available in the new bar and throughout both floors of the restaurant.
221Main is open from 5 pm, Thursday—Sunday. Reservations are available at 269-982-4000.
With the bar now settled in its new, but familiar location, the Montgomerys turn their attention to creating the new ‘Copper Pot Breakfast Café’, to be located at the corner entrance at Main & Pleasant Streets. The Copper Pot will offer breakfast for any taste or schedule, but will focus on a ‘nicer breakfast,’ perhaps a more leisurely breakfast than the average breakfast spot. A perfect place for a business breakfast or ‘catch up time’ with an old friend.
Robert and Tawn say the Copper Pot project is step by step. First the bar move, now redecoration of the corner building space: a brighter, fresher look, followed by new furniture more appropriate for breakfast. And Tawn’s new menu is taking shape: the basic egg and pancake items, plus ‘specialty benedicts’, Lox Bagels, and house-made coffee cake. Robert points out that 221’s on-site liquor license will allow the Copper Pot to feature mimosas, bloody marys and espresso martinis.
The target date for the opening of the Copper Pot Breakfast Café is mid-November. The hours will be Thursday-Friday 7-11 am, and Saturday-Sunday until 1 or 2 pm to accommodate brunch.
We asked Robert Montgomery about the on-going ‘evolution’ of 221 Main, from a Sports Bar called ‘Players’ in late 2012 to a major ‘casual upscale’ bar and restaurant. As he sees it, the transformation has been a product of ‘front-line owner involvement every day’.
“We talked to the customers every day,”, Robert told us. “They told us what they wanted, and we just gave it to them. It turns out they didn’t want another sports bar. They wanted a nice dinner place, not pretentious but elevated, not just ordinary.”
He believes they’ve achieved an atmosphere at 221 that is “nicer, but approachable and comfortable” for customers. He says they tell him that every night as he welcomes and seats them in the dining room. It’s that customer contact that Robert believes is the ‘secret sauce’ of 221 Main’s success and continued growth.
