College Hill’s hip new lounge called The Flower Shop is open only to certain patrons
Here’s something that’s pretty rare: A restaurant where you actually hope you’ll have to wait for a table.
That’s what’s likely to start happening in College Hill, where The Belmont has just opened a next-door waiting area with a hip, late 1960s feel, an upstairs loft, velvet furnishings and era-appropriate tunes piped in over a vintage sound system.
The new waiting area even has its own name — The Flower Shop — and it’s the kind of space you’d want to hang out in even if you weren’t waiting for a table next door.
You can’t, though. The new space, which co-owner Tory DeMarce showed off this week, is for use only by those who are on The Belmont’s wait list and who have been invited to wait there by the hostess.
The Flower Shop was opened for the first time over the weekend inside the space in Happiness Plaza that until the beginning of the month was occupied by Dean’s Designs. Its founders Dean and Joyce White built the plaza in the late 1960s, and originally operated it where The Belmont is now but several years ago downsized into the smaller space to its east.
But when COVID-19 hit and foot traffic to the shop slowed, Brad White decided to give up the space. Dean’s Designs is still in business and operates out of the back side of the building. But people who want to place orders now must call rather than visit in person.
When the space became vacant, owners Anthony and Ryan Francisco, who bought Happiness Plaza and two buildings to its west last year, asked DeMarce if he could find a use for the space. The Francisco brothers also are partners in The Belmont.
DeMarce said he immediately thought of the patrons he’s watched wait for tables in the sweaty parking lot since the restaurant first opened in early June.
“We were losing a lot of people,” he said. “Personally, I would not sit in a parking lot when it’s 100 degrees outside, either. That’s just not that much fun. So over here, we can offer drinks and air conditioning and music.”
There are about 16 seats in The Flower Shop, and those waiting there can order any drink from The Belmont’s drink menu.
DeMarce didn’t want to spend tons of money fixing the place up, he said, but his hands-off approach lends the space some of its vintage charm. It still has the pink carpet the flower shop had, and he’s using the cooler that once held flower bouquets to keep drinks chilled. The old flower shop desk is now the bar.
Dean’s Designs is planning to reclaim the neon sign that reads “flowers” hanging above the door to the space, DeMarce said, but he likes it so much, he’s ordering an identical sign to replace it.
People who used the new space last weekend were a bit confused about it but were happy to have such a nice place to wait for a table, DeMarce said.
The Flower Shop will be used only when The Belmont is full, he said.
“We just want the people who already made the choice to come here to be more comfortable and enticed to stay if we’re on a wait,” he said.
The Belmont will soon have even more space for diners to wait in comfort. In about two weeks, owners will be finished remodeling a loft area inside the restaurant that they’ll be able to use for people to wait or to host private events.
This story was originally published August 26, 2020 at 2:45 PM.
.jpg)