Community Corner

New Restaurant Focuses on Small Plates, Late Hours

Speakeasy, set to open Sunday, October 7 in the Helen Putnam Plaza on the Boulevard, will offer interesting tacos, vegetarian options and serve food until 2am.

Every time I write about a new restaurant opening, my stomach grumbles a little in anticipation of all the culinary goodness to come.

I always hope it will something unique, something affordable and something that will serve food very late, like past midnight.

Speakeasy may just be a place that meets all those requirements.

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Slated to open October 7 at Thai Ginger’s former location in the Helen Putnam Plaza, the restaurant seeks to combine global influences with down-home tastiness.

The menu (still being fine-tuned) will consist of mostly small plates featuring items such as pan-seared halibut with green papaya salad, roasted root vegetables with organic quinoa salad and interesting tacos such as the Bali (with barbequed jackfruit), the Navajo (gouda, spicy purple salsa and chipotle crème fraiche) or the Athens (hot fry bread with goat cheese and marinated olives.) 

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The duo behind the venture are 40-year-old Roger Tschann, more known as the owner of Grizzly Studios, a Petaluma recording company, and 30-year-old Amber Driscoll, who comes from a nonprofit background.

“We really wanted to pay homage to old time Petaluma, which had some speakeasies during Prohibition,” Driscoll said. “It’s a small place (max capacity is 40) but we’re really going to make use of the patio and outdoor seating.”

Speakeasy will be open evenings only, serving food until the deliciously late hour of 2am. Besides targeting the bar crowd, the owners also want the restaurant to become the kind of place bartenders, waiters and others in the local food industry can head to after clocking out.

“We think being here on the plaza will improve the quality of the area, which has had some tagging and other vandalism,” Driscoll said.

Have news about a local business? Let us know by emailing karina@patch.com


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