Last summer, chef Michal Ulehla and his wife, Joyce De La Torre, opened Bread + Salt in Frisco. Situated on Main Street, kitty-corner from the couples flagship Italian eatery, Bagalis, Bread + Salt was an experiment in upscale breakfast fare, with a name that alluded to the Central European custom of greeting friends with fresh-baked bread and salt.

With a starting base of longtime Bagalis customers and word-of-mouth referrals from friends and neighbors, Bread + Salts popularity quickly grew. The restaurant recently underwent a remodel, and Ulehla has added a lunch menu to sate his customers, who, between Bread + Salt and Bagalis, can now partake of the chefs creations morning, noon and night.

I knew it was going to take some time, especially with restaurants, to build up a reputation, Ulehla said. I think we were surprised how quickly we were able to build a customer base, but also, on the other hand, since this was established as a new business, we learned a lot along the way.

TIME TO REMODEL

When Bread + Salt first moved in, the corner storefronts large, south-facing windows spilled sun into a dimly lit, darkly painted dining room with a large coffee station in the center and a slivered view of the kitchen over a high countertop.

Ulehla and De La Torre wanted to brighten the space, so they embarked upon a remodel that opened up the dining room and made it more functional. They started by stripping off the wood paneling below the chair rail, repainting the dark green walls a light buttercup yellow with gray accents and upgrading the lighting and ceiling fans.

The light that they used to have, it was super old and super dark, De La Torre said. In the mornings when we would open, it would look so dark in here because the lighting was really bad. And all of the new lighting is really, really great.

A dividing wall set with window panes near the west entrance was jettisoned to create better flow, and the east entrance was closed off with drywall to make the central entrance a stronger focal point. The countertop dividing the dining room and the kitchen was lowered and set with bar stools to provide more seating, and the coffee station was relocated behind the counter.

Its just so open that you can see everything thats happening, De La Torre said, gesturing toward the windows. If its snowing really bad, if its blowing, this stop sign gives you a big show of everything thats happening. It feels like everything thats happening in town, you see it right here the people walking by, walking their dogs. Its a really good view.

New signage and chalk sandwich boards help draw traffic to Bread + Salt, and when the warm days of late spring and summer roll around, the couple is planning to take better advantage of the dog-friendly, wrap-around patio. Overall, the tight but conversational space creates a different energy than whats found at Bagalis, Ulehla said.

Link:
Bread + Salt restaurant in Frisco remodels, adds lunch menu

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January 31, 2015 at 8:55 am by Mr HomeBuilder
Category: Kitchen remodels