FORT GREENE — A married couple whose new restaurant is named for the West Village street corner where the executive chef first courted her future wife is aiming to bring a taste of that restaurant-rich Downtown neighborhood to Myrtle Avenue.
Hudson Jane, spearheaded by executive chef Megan Johnson and creative director Jen LaPorta, is slated to open next spring at 360 Myrtle Ave. in Fort Greene.
The couple, who have lived in the neighborhood for the last seven years, said the restaurant will bring a new type of dining experience to the thoroughfare, which they say lacks casual, healthy options.
“There’s nothing like what we want to do here, and there’s a lot of places very similar to what we wanted to do in the West Village,” said LaPorta, 35, adding that the pair searched for locations all over the city.
“We are so invested in this community because we live here and we want to make it great, we know a lot of people.”
The restaurant, named after the West Village cross streets where Johnson, 38, first made her move on LaPorta, will be a casual cafe during the day where customers can linger at custom benches and seats with their coffee, or grab their lunch to go.
The restaurant will feature an espresso bar with pastries and Counter Culture coffee, as well as a grab-and-go section that will include prepared meals and snacks. There will also be fresh juice and smoothies daily.
Brunch options will include a more refined version of the standard egg sandwich featuring bread from a local bakery and Grafton cheese, an American-style cheddar.
Lunch will include seasonal staples, like a watermelon salad with toasted walnuts, arugula, lemon confit and feta cheese during the summer.
At night, Hudson Jane will turn into a laid-back wine bar that’ll serve Johnson and LaPorta’s own brand of locally sourced “American comfort food,” which shouldn’t be confused for Southern.
“I don’t want anyone to think it’s Southern food,” Johnson said. “There’s a lot of different cultures that encompass what American comfort food is now.”
Dinner options will include Mima’s Swingin’ Oxtail — an oxtail stew marinated for 24 hours and inspired by LaPorta’s Cuban grandmother.
There will be small, medium and large plates for snacking or sharing.
The duo is also in the process of trademarking a top-secret sandwich they say is unlike any other and will be available for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Prices will run around $13 for a breakfast sandwich, a salad or other lunchtime sandwiches, or a small plate at dinner. Dinner entrees will average around $24, and wine is priced at around $15 a glass.
Aside from the regular meal service, Hudson Jane will sell goods from local suppliers, like boiled speckled eggs, jams and jellies, and kitchenware.
Johnson and LaPorta also plan on creating a community space at the restaurant by hosting cooking classes and “Meet the Maker” nights with local chefs and artisans. The pair is currently taking memberships for a monthly supper club that includes a craft cocktail hour, a four-course meal, and beer and wine pairings.
The 700 square-foot space, designed by architect and neighbor Brett Masterson, will be modeled after an old general store, where the back stock is on display and kitchen items are slotted on a peg board. The design will show off the building’s existing exposed brick, steel beams and massive arched windows.
The walls will be white with green accents, with plenty of succulents that mirror LaPorta’s plant collection at home. The look will be a farm-like “modern Hudson Valley,” without looking cheesy, she said. (The team promised to stay away from Edison bulbs.) It will seat up to 30 guests.
“We wanted to create a really warm and inviting place where people can spend however much time they want to, get to know us and just feel like it’s a welcome space outside their home,” LaPorta said.
Hudson Jane will be open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. Friday through Saturday.
