Bourbon and burgers restaurant to replace Señora Arepa

https://www.courier-journal.com/story/e ... /?tbref=hp

Is Ole's strategy to open an ethnic restaurant and then replace it with something far more Americanized? We already lost Artisano Tapas to the (blander and inferior) Steak & Bourbon. Now, a Venezuelan restaurant owned by the same group will become a generic American bar. (Keep in mind, Drakes, Saints, Gerstles, and, in a pinch, the relatively downmarket Burger King are all within spitting distance.)

To be fair, I never got fully acclimated to Señora Arepa. The arepas were good, the other stuff on the menu was not as good as Mojito across the street (my go-to), despite being more expensive at Arepa, and the drinks were weak at Arepa. I'll definitely give the burger place a try, since it's near me, but I don't have great expectations.

[Robin Garr]

Is Ole's strategy to open an ethnic restaurant and then replace it with something far more Americanized

I have pretty much given up on trying to figure out Ole's strategy. They appear to be successful, yet get there by making business decisions that appear out of the ordinary. (They also kind of burned their bridges with a lot of people in 2020 by making some politicized public statements that were hard to get on board with. That's probably why I never got around the St. Matthew's Señora Arepa.)

I completely agree with you about the loss of Artesano, though. That was one of my favorite local restaurants.

2020.....2022....they have either learned how to manage their social media or their kids changed their password.

I think their strategy is vibes and high prices. Seems to work for them! Not for me.

or their kids changed their password.

"

I think their strategy is vibes and high prices. Seems to work for them! Not for me.

They definitely have some Instagrammable backdrops, plus the smoking cigar dessert at Bodeguita (where the food was actually great, the time or two I went).

To quote Tony Soprano, I've now been there "a couple of three" times (he was probably trying to say "two to three")... First visit, I had an Argentinian burger and zucchini fries with sweet & smoky seasoning, and wasn't impressed. Didn't care for the sausage included on the burger, and the zucchini fries weren't that great, nor was the seasoning.

Second visit was tonight. I ordered the Korean BBQ wings and regular fries with garlic pepper seasoning. Both were excellent, overall. The wings had a generous amount of toppings. I could have stood them to be a bit more spicy, but plan to try the Jamaican ones next time to compare. The fries had very good flavor, and although the menu says they come with ketchup, they were served with a white sauce that was much better than ketchup.

Much like Senora Arepa, the mixed drinks are not particularly strong, but their Old Fashioned is still very tasty. They were packed on this very hot Wednesday evening. There was ample outdoor seating, but due to the inhospitable heat, people were waiting for inside seats, and the bar was full by the time I left.

Whenever I see a restaurant change from something unique, interesting or international to something Americanized, I assume they are shooting for the tourism market instead of the locals.