By Judy Clabes
NKyTribune editor
Brothers Dean and Shane Gosney, owners of HAL-PE Associates, have polished a diamond-in-the-rough into the perfect place for Chef Richard Zumwalde to spice it up a notch or two.
Zumwalde will be opening the doors to his Purple Poulet Restaurant in the iconic Green Derby historic building in Newport tomorrow at 5 p.m. — and he couldn’t be happier on oh-so-many levels.
He can’t say enough about the restorations the Gosney brothers have made to the 1876 historic building in the York Street Historic District which has been a grocery store, a market, a billards hall — and in 1947 became a star in Newport’s crown — the popular Green Derby restaurant.
Zumwalde says the Gosney brothers’ magic — and devotion to Newport’s history — has taken the building back to its origins and made it the perfect place for the Purple Poulet, which had to be relocated from inadequate space in Dayton. He is leasing the building from the Gosneys and says theirs is a “match made in heaven.”
Zumwalde is the founder and owner of the Purple Poulet. He and his wife, Roxanne, opened their restaurant in 2016 and set about building a “destination” Southern Bourbon Bistro experience in Dayton. He has spent most of his life — since high school — in the food industry, including as executive chef for Christ Hospital, the Elms in Cincinnati, the Cincinnati Club and Bankers Club, the revolving restaurant at the former Quality Inn in Covington — and more.
At the new location, he has doubled his indoor seating and has second floor private rooms for small parties and gatherings. And he’ll have a much-coveted outdoor patio with its own bar for nearly triple the space he had.
It has taken a while, given the renovations, supply chain disruptions, COVID delays, and his aim to make the space special and memorable.
Anxiously working toward the grand opening, including finding just the right decorative features, Zumwalde has focused on elegance and ambience.
The main dining room is on the first floor and upstairs are themed smaller rooms for private parties or more space when there’s a big crowd.
There’s a Charleston-themed room, an Old Fashioned room (a whiskey theme with a fireplace and a deer head), a Sazerac room named for official New Orleans cocktails, a Speakeasy room and — of course — a Mint Julep room, named for the famous Kentucky Derby drink.
And, speaking of drinks, the downstairs bar features over 400 different bourbons — and the collection is growing.
His menu has been expanded “back to pre-COVID” times — and, yes, there is the famous friend chicken of Purple Poulet fame. And voodoo shrimp, shrimp and grits, country-fried pork tenderloin with red-eye gravy, ribeye pepper steak — and a lot of other mouth-watering offerings.
The Gosneys restored original features of the historic building, peeling back the ceiling back to the original textured metal, exposing steel beams that would have been state-of-the-art in 1876 and opening up an outdoor dining space and bar surrounded by a period-looking fencing and partly covered.
Zumwalde recommends making reservations if you are hoping to experience the new Purple Poulet this weekend. Hours are 5-9 p.m. Call 859-916-5602. They open the doors tomorrow at 5 p.m.
A peak inside:
A peek at the outdoor patio:
