A new seafood restaurant and bar will replace Park Bruges on Bryant Street in Highland Park in the new year.
“We’re hoping to close in January on the deal, maybe use the month of February to change things up,” said Angela Earley, who will take over the space.
Earley, co-owner of Penn Avenue Fish Company and The Warren Bar and Burrow, said she hopes the new restaurant will open up around March.
“We’re not 100% sure yet on name,” she said, as she’s still working with a graphic designer on branding.
Renovations will include new colors, light fixtures, and televisions, which she hopes will make the space more cozy and approachable. Park Bruges did not have televisions.
The cuisine concept will be New England-style seafood with a mix of options that aren’t seafood, such as sandwiches, salads, burgers and other entrées, according to Earley, and there will also be an expanded bar with more wines and cocktails.
“We want to promote kind of sharable things,” she said. “The seafood aspect will be almost like a sharable section where you could get different preparations of seafoods in different sizes to share.”
Fresh fish will be the focal point of the menu, Earley said, and the restaurant will be serving brunch on Saturday and Sunday. Sushi will not be on the menu. She is unsure whether lunch will be offered, as many aspects of the restaurant are still being developed.
One aspect she’s certain of is having a “really good happy hour.”
Earley said she’s been friends with the owner of Park Bruges for a long time.
“I live in the neighborhood and frequent there. He frequents my restaurant as well,” she said. “He’s very similar in his management style; I think he probably thought I would be a good fit.”
The closing announcement was posted on the French-inspired bistro restaurant’s Facebook page Monday, saying a new restaurant concept will take its place. The post was signed by owners Jesse and Amy Seager.
“While a hard decision for us, it was made easier by having a good friend and fellow restaurateur ready to step up and step in,” the post said.
Park Bruges, which opened in 2011, said it will instead focus energy on its sister restaurant, Point Brugge Cafe, and its upcoming 20th anniversary in January 2025. Point Brugge is located on Hastings Street in Point Breeze.
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Earley said the plan is to keep as many employees from Park Bruges as want to stay.
“We want to make the transition as simple as possible,” she said. “We want to offer them a place … they have that option.”
If more people need to be hired to fill in gaps, they will do so, according to Earley.
“We’re trying to make it approachable and comfortable and have something for everyone, and just be a great addition to the neighborhood,” Earley said of the new restaurant concept. “And keep on the same idea that it’s just a good gathering spot for neighborhood people and visitors.”