Big news out of Benton Park today: Niche’s Gerard Craft tells The Scoop that Veruca Bakeshop & Cafe, housed in the space next door to the restaurant, will shutter after this Saturday. In its place will be Niche Taste Bar, a 20-seat lounge featuring cocktails and a menu of small plates that can be used as an accompaniment for drinks or combined to create a light meal; wine tastings may be in the works as well. “It’s a good opportunity for us to use specialty items that we can’t get a lot of or can’t really put on the menu at the restaurant,” Craft said.
But fans of pastry chef Mathew Rice needn’t worry: Rice is designing a dessert menu for the new tasting bar, and his cakes, wedding cakes and baked goods can still be ordered through the restaurant. Niche regulars will also be interested to hear that Rice is starting a bread program at Niche, meaning that all of the restaurant’s breads will now be made in-house.
Niche Taste Bar calls for a new look, so the space will undergo a bit of redecorating, Craft said. Watch for the new concept to debut in early April.
This article appears in Feb 1-28, 2009.