Prolific hospitality group adds culinary footprint to bustling NE Tallahassee landscape
A casual bistro with a “familiar feel” has taken over the former Hemingway’s Bar & Kitchen location in northeast Tallahassee.
Seven Hills Hospitality Group’s newest venture, Rae’s Restaurant, brings a refreshed menu, concept and look.
The restaurant at 3431 Bannerman Road, Suite 104, embraces coastal, Southern, Panhandle and Mediterranean influences while offering an extensive cocktail menu filled with a variety of daiquiris, mojitos, classics, beers, and wine.
The restaurant was welcomed Sept. 9 by guests who stopped by before the big Florida State vs. University of Southern Mississippi game.
It is the latest hospitality destination offered up by the prolific partners of the Seven Hills Hospitality Group, the creators behind the Liberty Bar and the Hawthorn Bistro & Bakery, both located at 1307 N Monroe St.; El Cocinero, 1303 Thomasville Road; Bar 1903, 209 E. Park Ave.; and South Station, 1215 S. Adams St.
Rae’s Restaurant embraces a coastal feel with a North Florida twist, said Jesse Edmunds, a managing member of Seven Hills Hospitality Group. The large windows provide an indoor and outdoor ambiance with a splash of light wooden tables made to seat about 60 guests, giving off a light and airy ambiance. The deep blue paint, mixed with a pastel blue accent, adds some color to the white wooden walls, a strategy Edmunds has learned with his previous ventures.
“With all the restaurants, we start with a very minimalist design, and we add things over time that are meaningful to the space and meaningful to the concept and the people who work there,” Edmunds said in an interview with the Tallahassee Democrat. “We have plans to add to the space as it speaks to us.”
The scratch kitchen menu, just as intentional as the décor, Edmunds said, is inspired by the creative collaboration of kitchen manager Tyler Sheridan and culinary director Andrew Stock, who came together as early as May to lay the foundation of Rae’s Restaurant.
“We really wanted to maintain that kind of approachability. The kind of casual neighborhood gathering place that you would go to on a Tuesday, grab something on the way home from work, grab a couple of beers with your friends, or grab a cocktail with your friends and munch on some nice plates; a really casual social vibe,” Edmunds said.
To tap into their creative processes, they drew from their personal experiences and looked into dishes they felt would be fun attractions for the menu while still playing it on the safe side as the kitchen and staff learn to make dishes executable. Customer feedback will help them to complete their small plates, handhelds, entrees and dessert menu.
“Our menus are influenced by where we've been and where we are,” Edmunds said.
For instance, the menu features the handheld “Lobster Roll” inspired by Edmunds' hometown of Boston. The roll combines buttermilk bread, cold-dressed lobster, celery, shallot, and chive, for $28.
Another noted favorite is the small plate ‘Fontina Stuffed Mushrooms,’ with creamy fontina, roasted mushroom, and pecan romesco for $12.
Entrees start at $22, but the menu is set to change twice a year to keep fresh updates as the seasons change and what management feels “best serves the customer base.”
Although the menu and restaurant concept is a capstone project for the hospitality group, Edmunds says the restaurant's name, Rae's, was inspired by his wife of 10 years, Briana Rae Edmunds.
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Jesse Edmunds said all of his ventures come together through collaborative sessions, and when “life hits you, you take the inspiration when it comes, and you move forward.”
Rae’s Restaurant operates Tuesday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. and on Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
For more updates about the restaurant, follow @raes.tlh on Instagram.
Democrat writer Kyla A. Sanford can be reached at ksanford@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Hospitality group opens new Rae's Restaurant in NE Tallahassee
