Six months ago, Fat City reported that Wes Gartner and Jill Myers, the owners of 11-year-old Moxie Cathering, had leased the R Bar location, at 1617 Genessee in the West Bottoms, from the building's owner (and former R Bar operator) Joy Jacobs and planned to move the catering business into the space.
At the time, Wes Gartner told me that he planned to open a restaurant in the venue within a few months and he wasn't ready to reveal the name of the dining spot.
It now has a name, Voltaire - the pen name of French writer and philosopher Francoise Marie Arouet - and a tentative opening date: Valentine's Day, 2013.
"We don't have our liquor license yet," Jill Myers says.
Myers says future plans include serving breakfast (or at least coffee and croissants) and, maybe, lunch to the early morning First Weekend patrons who come to the West Bottoms to shop at the vintage markets. Voltaire will serve small plates - a selection that will change weekly - during the hours it will be open on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, Myers says.
Voltaire will not be, like the R Bar, a club for live musical performances. "We might occasionally have music as a special event," Myers says, "but not every night."
Myers partner and fiance, Wes Gartner, will serve as chef for Voltaire, and Ryan Holopter will be the sous chef.
Showing 1-4 of 4
