BY LIZ WITBECK
A new restaurant, Cook Street Station, is
expected to open in May in Whitehall, taking
over where Lucia’s restaurant operated
starting in 2012.
Cook Street Station, 209 Broadway, is
owned and operated by Shelly and David
Carpenter. The husband and wife team
have extensive experience in the restaurant
industry. Shelly has worked as a pastry chef
for the past six years and David has been
a chef in area restaurants for seven years.
Combined they have 23 years of experience
bringing high quality service to customers.
Owners of Lucia’s, Roxanne and David
Waters, are leaving the business due to
personal reasons. Prior to being Lucia’s, it
was site of the popular Roma Restaurant.
Inspired by their passion for homemade
cooking, the Carpenters intend to bring
casual pub food to the menu at Cook Street
Station. Traditionally the menu at Lucia’s
and Roma was Italian.
“We want to have a broader appeal,” said
Carpenter about the decision to create the
more casual menu.
The menu will feature a variety of burgers
and pizzas. There will be specialty sandwiches,
such as a Reuben made with their
corned beef that is braised in house, and a
Monte Cristo made on challah bread baked in the restaurant.
“I’m really looking forward to the Cuban,
because we’re going to do that on a housemade
pretzel bread,” said Carpenter. “And
we’re also going to do a salmon with a corn
and bacon risotto.”
One event Cook Street Station is planning
is Roma Nights. As a tribute to the Roma
Restaurant, these nights will be used to offer
Italian cuisine. There will be live pasta
stations, hand-tossed pizzas, antipasto stations,
and homemade breads.
The Carpenters said customers will be
able to taste the difference when they come
into the restaurant. “We’ll have breads made
from scratch, all of the desserts are going to
be homemade… Experience in the industry
is going to help us stand out.”
The restaurant is undergoing redecorating
to help modernize the facility. The
restaurant is expecting to receive its liquor
license shortly. Cook Street Station is tentatively
scheduled to open in early May.
The restaurant will be open Wednesday
through Sunday to begin. Wednesdays and
Thursdays the restaurant will open from
11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays
from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; and Sundays from
11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
For more information, visit www.cookstreetstation.com