Biz Buzz shares business tidbits from the tri-states. In addition to this update from Galena, Ill., we will highlight developments from Dubuque and Elkader, Iowa, in Tuesday’s edition.
A new restaurant and bar soon will bring a diverse menu and international flair to downtown Galena.
Bread & Vine Bakery will open its doors next month at 217 S. Main St., according to owner Eric Bonnetain. The restaurant will feature a small-plate concept and serve imported cheeses, specialty meats, pastries, sandwiches and more.
Bonnetain has spent his career working in the restaurant and hotel industries, traveling around the world to open new locations and create new concepts. His travels have served as inspiration for this venture.
“I am taking things from all the different places I have been and incorporating (those lessons) into the food I have here,” he said.
Bonnetain said he was working in China when COVID-19 hit the country. He lost his job and returned to the U.S.
Shortly thereafter, he took a trip to Galena with his wife.
“I noticed that this little town was busy, even in the middle of COVID,” he said.
Bonnetain learned about the property at 217 S. Main St., contacted the landlord and submitted a concept for his business. He took over the lease in September and started construction shortly thereafter, transforming what used to be The Pink Boutique clothing store into what will soon become a new restaurant.
“We have gutted the whole place: the floors, the walls and everything,” he said.
In addition to its indoor seating, Bread & Vine Bakery will offer a vast outdoor dining area with 40 to 50 seats
Bonnetain hopes the diversity of the business will be a key to its success. The business will offer a wide selection of pastries and cakes, as well as a large selection of sandwiches.
The space features a bar that will serve specialty cocktails and a bakery that will make different breads and croissants.
Bread & Vine Bakery also will have a catering arm, which he hopes will tap into the sizable number of large gatherings and events in Galena.
Over the course of his life, Bonnetain has lived in multiple major U.S. metro areas and most recently resided in Miami. He now lives in The Galena Territory.
While Bread & Vine Bakery is not planning to open until mid-April, the business already is generating a fair amount of buzz.
“Everywhere I go, every time I walk into a store in Galena, they are asking, ‘When will you open?’” Bonnetain said. “It is crazy the number of people asking about it.”