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Big reveal: The name is Johnny’s. After months of secrecy, restaurateurs Tony Foreman and Cindy Wolf are sharing details about their newest place, which opens at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 16.
“It’s about as all-American as you’re going to get,” Tony said of the restaurant’s name, which ties in nicely with its American menu. The food also has West Coast influences, reflecting the cuisines of that area’s Mexican and Asian immigrants, he said.
Johnny’s is located in the lower level of the Roland Park Shopping Center, pictured, where Petit Louis, another Foreman Wolf restaurant, can be found on the other end.
Tony doesn’t see Johnny’s as being competition for the decade-old French bistro. “It’s very complementary,” he said.
Johnny’s also has a lower price point than the other Foreman Wolf restaurants (including Charleston, Cinghiale, and Pazo), with dinner entrees in the $14-19 range.
The décor is retro charming—a throwback to the ’40s and ’50s— with brick walls, zinc-topped tables, a counter with stools ala a diner, colorful Chesterfield banquettes, and a plaid carpet.
In front of the 1890s building, there’s a vintage metal porch glider.
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner will be served daily in the refurbished space that once housed the Roland Park Bakery & Deli. Various coffees will be offered as well as fountain sodas and milkshakes. There’s also a whiskey bar with a TV (the only one in a Foreman Wolf restaurant).
You’ll find breakfast items like omelets, pancakes, and oatmeal, and lunch and dinner offerings like hoisin BBQ pulled beef brisket on a baguette, burgers, and grilled shrimp and tortilla.
Evening specials feature bacon-wrapped meatloaf, fish and chips, and sesame-fried chicken breast.
As I toured Johnny's yesterday, the restaurant was already bustling with staff activity in anticipation of its first diners.
“It should be cool,” said Tony, who grew up eight blocks from the new restaurant and still lives in the neighborhood.
Reservations are not required.
Photo courtesy of realestateseen.com
