Emily Shantery and Sarah Stocum got to know their North Collinwood neighbors – and vice versa – during a series of pop-ups over the past two years. Those events were held at businesses in the area such as Waterloo Arts and Doinks Burger Joint, with the aim of opening a bar somewhere in the Waterloo Arts District.
While the original plan was to stick to drinks, that idea morphed over time into a full-service restaurant.
“The goal was to open a bar; the restaurant side of it evolved closer to opening,” Shantery explains. “The chef has been a close friend of ours for this whole journey, but we didn’t know that he would be willing to take a leap of faith with us.”
With chef Zachary Bordner fully on board, Millie’s Cocktails (15515 Waterloo Rd.), will open on Friday, March 20. The 34-seat bar and restaurant is located next door to Doinks, in the space most recently home to KINK Contemporary.
To drink, there will be beer, wine and a roster of a dozen or so “unique curations.” Those original cocktails will be joined by a list of classics.
Bordner’s menu is a tight collection of seasonal small plates, salads and shareables that are described as “elevated comfort food with a lot of Hungarian inspiration.” Snacks include olives and bread, hummus with crudité, and chicken tenders with blue cheese sauce. Larger plates offer cabbage rolls, lamb sugo, and chicken confit paprikash. For dessert, there is a Hungarian-style crepe cake.
The vibe is described as “grandma-chic.”
“We tried to keep things a little bit warmer,” says Shantery.
When it opens later this month, Millie’s Cocktails will serve dinner Monday and Thursday through Saturday.
“Sarah and I are both rooted in this neighborhood and we feel really passionate about the community and saw an opportunity to put something like this on Waterloo,” Shantery adds. “At the same time, the community made us feel secure and safe enough to take this risk.”
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