After a bit of a
false start a few months ago, Forest City is now confirming that Capitol Hill restaurant magnate Xavier Cervera will be opening "Willie's Brew & Que" in the
Boilermaker Shops at
The Yards. On the Yards's
just redesigned web site, Willie's
is listed as opening in Fall 2012, along with the other Boilermaker Shops restaurants
previously announced (
Austin Grill Express,
brb,
Buzz Bakery, a craft brewery by the
Churchkey folks, and
Huey's 24-7 Diner).
In a Going Out Gurus post today about
Cervera's purchase of the Hawk 'n' Dove, Willie's is described as a sports bar, with the "'Cue" in the name referring not to pool but to barbecue that will be smoked on site. Plus, "Cervera promises 'the audio and video system is going to be very cool in there' when the place opens in 2012, including custom-built 12-foot plasma screens." (Note that GoG says it's "Brew & 'Cue", while Forest City's web site says "Brew & Que.")
Look for some new signage on the fences around the Boilermaker within the next few weeks, trumpeting all of the announced restaurants. (And I'll also point out that the
web site says "more to come.")
The
Going Out Gurus post also says that Cervera will be opening a restaurant at
Canal Park, which they say will be
LEED-certified, serving Neopolitan pizzas and featuring a raw bar. I've got a request into the Canal Park folks for confirmation and/or details. The park is expected to open in spring 2012. (
UPDATE: The leasing negotiations for the Canal Park site are apparently not yet finalized, so don't consider this a done deal just yet.)