Althea Grey Potter grew up in rural Massachusetts with “hippie parents who had a really incredible vegetable garden,” the former Oui Wine Bar chef said. “So when I create a dish, even a protein dish, I usually start with a vegetable.”
That could explain why, at Bar Nouveau, Potter’s new St. Johns restaurant, the star of soft-opening previews was the cabbage. Savoy cabbage from Sauvie Island Growers, to be precise, brushed with a sweet pepper gastrique and served on a bed of charred aubergine with feta cheese, pickled habonada peppers, crunchy granola and “a grip of dill.”
For those who love the neighborhood, it’s no surprise that Bar Nouveau opened last week in St. Johns, just a block from Starter Bread and Gracie’s Apizza, where Potter and Elizabeth Singer held a successful pop-up this spring. It might be surprising that Bar Nouveau opened at all. After Oui Wine Bar closed in 2020, Potter figured she was done with the restaurant industry. She cashed in her winnings from the Food Network cooking competition Guy’s Grocery Games and started a chile crisp company.
“I thought I was done being a chef,” said Potter. “I was burnt out, I had really bad carpal tunnel. And I kept reflecting on the industry at large. But I missed cooking for people. It’s the thing that brings me the most joy in the world.”
So when Gracie’s owner Craig Melillo posted that he was looking for someone to take over the pizzeria with a pop-up on Mondays and Tuesdays in February, Potter messaged him right away. Her first call was to Singer, a beekeeper, farmer and beverage specialist who spent time at Southern California’s Rustic Canyon group.
“Hey, what are you doing on Mondays and Tuesdays?” Potter asked. “Do you want to play restaurant in 10 days?”
Bar Nouveau, which Potter describes as a “French inspired, farm-driven bistro,” held its first pop-up in March. By its second week, reservations were booked through week 10.
Meals at Bar Nouveau begin with a welcoming “sipping cocktail,” general manager Heather Wallberg said.Courtesy of Bar Nouveau
“When I started the pop-up, my husband asked if I wanted to own a restaurant, and I said, ‘No.’ The next week, I was helping Craig unload his wood delivery, and he was like, ‘I know you said you don’t want to own a restaurant, but there’s this space right up the street, a brunch spot called Paiku, and I think it would be perfect for you. And I’ve peaked through the windows of hundreds of empty restaurants and felt nothing.”
“I remember the night Althea was like, ‘Can we take a field trip?’” Singer said. “And I saw the light in her eyes, and I knew in that moment, well, there we go …”
Singer’s beverage list aims to compliment Potter’s food, with fun takes on familiar cocktails and a selection of mostly Old World wines balancing tannins and earthiness — nothing too overpowering. “You won’t find a Cabernet Sauvignon on the menu,” she said.
“My love for wine is about where it starts,” Singer said. “I want people to think about the varietal, what it means, where it’s coming from and how it makes sense with Althea’s food.”
After locking down the space, Potter and Singer reached out to Heather Wallberg, the former co-owner of Gabbiano’s and Take Two bar, who managed to sneak in for Bar Nouveau’s final pop-up. Wallberg walked away convinced she could help turn the pop-up into “a love letter back to the industry.”
“It’s not molecular gastronomy,” Wallberg said. “It’s not smoke and mirrors. It’s just really well-sourced local ingredients. I walked away saying, ‘I haven’t tasted anything like this in Portland before.’ I can’t not say yes.”
The trio designed and built the restaurant with friends, sanding walls and scouring Facebook marketplace for decor to match two paintings of a clown and a ballerina Potter found found on the side of the road.
“At one point I had an induction burner on my floor and was blanching peaches because I was worried I wouldn’t be able to have them” in the fall, Potter said. “Now they’re in our chicken liver mousse set as a peach-huckleberry jam.”
Chicken liver mousse with a jam made from peaches chef Potter blanched on the restaurant’s floor this summer.Courtesy of Bar Nouveau
To provide a more personal touch, Bar Nouveau is avoiding online reservation platforms and taking reservations by text only. “I like to push boundaries when it comes to hospitality and not do the same thing that everyone else is doing,” Wallberg said.
“Heather and Elizabeth and I share a passion for food and wine, but I want Bar Nouveau to be a place where people can have fun, too,” said Potter. “It’s a dark, scary time to be a human on this Earth right now. At Bar Nouveau you can eat something delicious and unexpected and get a respite from all the other things going on outside, even if it’s just for 90 minutes.”
Bar Nouveau serves dinner from 5 to 10 p.m. Thursday-Monday at 7425 N. Leavitt Ave.; for reservations, text 503-849-3351; nouveaufoodandwine.com
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Dining and Cooking