6:15pm | After a seven-month experiment to merge the restaurants, the marriage between Bouchee’s Bistro and Smooth’s Sports Grille has ended, according to Smooth’s owner John Morris.
The partnership was seen as a powerful union between two popular downtown restaurants.
After a partnership that basically amounted to Bouchee’s running the food menu and business operations while Smooth’s ran the bar, the restaurant will return to being Smooth’s with a limited menu that resembles the one used prior to the merger.
Bouchee’s, headed by owner Tony Zervas, was famous for its delicious gourmet hamburgers and came to Smooth’s hoping to benefit from a more high-profile location on Pine Avenue. Calls to Zervas were not immediately returned.
John Morris, owner of Smooth’s, said today that the relationship was over as of this morning, apparently because the restaurant had not gained the increased traffic that was anticipated. Morris and restaurant management spent the day reorganizing the menu and arranging to replace lost staff.
“One way or another, I’ll make sure there’s a happy ending,” Morris said.
More to come…