Grand Opening of Tavern 1888
I cannot be the only one that despises it when food bloggers sink the recipe all the way to the bottom of the page; I mean I truly do not care about the crisp fall day in New England that inspired you to put your spin on a classic clam chowder recipe - just show me the recipe! So for those of you that are here for meat of the story, let me not bury the lead:
“The Historic Eagle House located at 139 2nd Street in Old Town Eureka, CA is excited to announce the Grand Opening of Tavern 1888. The press and public are invited to attend on Friday, October 14th from 5:30pm to 10pm. A ribbon cutting ceremony starts off the celebration at 5:30pm, followed by live music from Canary and the Vamp and DJ Marjo Lak in the grand theater ballroom.”
Now for those of you that would like to stick around and enjoy me waxing poetic, here’s the fluff:
The rebirth of the Historic Eagle House has been wonderful to witness over the last few years. The resurgence that the landmark has undergone is thanks to ownership under Jenny & Tim Metz and Rebecca & Tammy Rex who have successfully breathed new life into the rafters of the grand building.
The Historic Eagle House is the whole picture. In the sum of its parts, it is now home to the Inn at Second and C which offers beautiful, vintage rooms for overnight stays as well as Phatsy Kline’s which I had the pleasure of covering for the North Coast Journal’s Insider Magazine in 2019 (read that article here.) Since its opening, Phatsy Kline’s has become a community favorite, offering some of the best craft cocktails and small bites to be found in Eureka while also garnering a reputation for its stylish interior (including the gorgeous restrooms.) But in all of this shining success, there has been one missing piece; one more huge undertaking before the building felt whole again - the cornerstone and face of the Historic Eagle House.
Many of us will remember this space as it’s most recent iteration - the long-time home of Gallagher’s Irish Pub before their move to 4th Street. But even before that, the restaurant had been known as Buon Gusto Restaurant and Tavern through much of the twentieth century (the new name harkening back to this origin story as well as the year in which it was built.) And just as they had successfully achieved in the rest of the Historic Eagle House, the team of dedicated owners had the lofty goal to create “a modern dining space in a time-honored building;” this time with the intention to create as Jennifer called it, “an elevated big sister to Phatsy Kline’s.”
During the thirteen months that it took to complete the renovation, they patiently uncovered the historic bones and built around them an elegant and hip dining room with emerald green walls, comfy leather lounge chairs, rich refurbished wood accents and open kitchen. The only thing that could possibly make the stylish interior of the restaurant pale in comparison are its offerings.
Tavern 1888 features the culinary visions of Executive Chef John Ruddick who blends Humboldt County edible elements “from the sea, land and air” with inspiration that he gained from his time cooking in Hawaii for seven years. Combine this with the Southern influence from Sous Chef Jason Whitley, and the result is a brand new take on spotlighting our area’s natural ingredients with menu staples like Lamb Ossobuco, “True Grits” (Manchego infused grits with your choice of Rock Cod, Shrimp or both ‘cause why not?) and vegetarian Lion’s Mane Cakes. Moreover, the star ingredients of the menu are all sourced locally from producers that are also given shoutouts on the menu (humbly absent from the menu shoutouts is co-owner Tim Metz who also has a direct marketing license and personally catches the Copper River Sockeye Salmon.)
Paired with bougie cocktails (and an impressive list of mocktails) from the mixologist that put Phatsy Kline’s on the Humboldt County map, Cynthia Carter, as well as a wine list featuring all West Coast wines curated by local sommelier, Erin Young (yes, you read that right. I built the wine list!) the offerings from Tavern 1888 give an impressive snapshot of what Humboldt County has to offer to guests visiting the Inn from out of the area, as well as a reminder of how good we’ve got it here to those of us permanent residents.
On a personal note, it has been an absolute pleasure partnering with this restaurant. It is a true joy to see a group of people come together in such an authentic way to create a very real labor of love and I am ecstatic to get the opportunity to share the news of their Grand Opening. If you have yet to experience this restaurant in their early days of operation, I can’t think of a better way to get your introduction than this kick-ass party that they are about to throw for you!