Nick Miller, former chef-owner of the recently shuttered Harvest has been hired as executive chef for The Caramel Room at Bissinger’s. The Caramel Room is a private event space situated on the top floor of the chocolate company’s new downtown location at 1600 N. Broadway, scheduled to open Sept. 29.
“The day I found out Harvest was closing, I called him (Miller),” said Amanda Little, director of events for 23 City Blocks, management company for The Caramel Room and Lumen event space, which it acquired in late July. After an interview and a seven-course tasting, the chef was offered the position. “We want a chef that can have our guests feeling as if they were at a culinary restaurant,” she said.
The Caramel Room will be used for weddings, corporate events and other private parties. The 13,000-square-foot space features large, warehouse-style windows that give way to a flood of natural light and sights of the downtown skyline, plus an outdoor terrace that offers views of the Mississippi River. “It’s modern but not over the top,” Little said.
While menus will be tailor-made for guests, chocolate-inspired offerings will be a focus at The Caramel Room. “We’re a working chocolate factory,” she said. “We want to infuse chocolate in our menu.” As the 23 City Blocks team prepares to open, the rest of the four-story building is bustling with activity as Bissinger’s relocates its headquarters and local manufacturing operations from 3983 Gratiot St.
“We’re in the throes of moving the operation now,” said Dave Owens, Bissinger’s vice president of taste and chief chocolatier. Owens said the company would vacate the building by the end of August and production will commence at the new location as early as next week.
This article appears in August 2014.