Newark woman brings new restaurant to replace Chop House
NEWARK – Downtown Newark will welcome a new restaurant in the coming weeks.
In May, The Grill's Chop House will close its doors and transform into what Danielle Good envisions as an American comfort-food type of place. The Newark High School graduate is excited to get into the building and get to work, launching her first restaurant whose name has yet to be determined.
Good has worked in the restaurant business for nearly her entire life, starting as a waitress when she was 16 and eventually working as an assistant general manager for the Columbus Brewing Co.
"I'm really looking forward to bringing the experience I have and channeling it into something I love and doing it local," Good said.
Starting Monday Good will be at the Chop House, meeting the staff and learning the ins and outs of the building before the renovations start. The restaurant will close on May 17 to begin the remodeling, and Good is hopeful to reopen within three to four weeks.
As a young girl Good often visited the restaurant when it was the Natoma. It was a place she would go with her mother and she always enjoyed her experience there. As she takes over the restaurant, she's aiming to recreate that feel with a casual, family-friendly atmosphere with a modern flair.
The menu is still being finalized but will feature American-style food, such as burgers, entree salads and more. The restaurant will be open seven days per week, with brunch offerings on Saturday and Sunday mornings.
"There will be a little bit of something for everyone," Good promises.
Although it is bittersweet for Chop House owner Eric Mason to sell the business, he said he is excited to see what Good will bring to the downtown area.
"No one is going to be rooting harder for her than me," Mason said. "The employees and having a person in there that's going to continue in taking the downtown future into consideration, those are things that are very important to me. I would not have done this if it wasn't the right fit for my employees or for downtown Newark."
Over the past four to five years, Mason said his catering business has really taken off and expanded. Between directing more attention to that portion of The Grill Family business and wanting to spend more time with his family, parting ways with the Chop House made sense, he said.
The new restaurant has certainly been keeping Good busy. From the time she wakes up to the time she goes to bed she's thinking about it, working with her design team on the renovation plan and finalizing menu selections.
"I still love my job, I love what I do. Meeting someone new and having conversations with them, it keeps my energy up," Good said of the restaurant business. "When I started looking into it, hearing everything about what's going on downtown and being able to be involved in it sounded like a great opportunity. I really want to be here and grow with what's going on in our community."
emaddern@newarkadvocate.com
740-328-8513
Twitter: @emmaddern