As an alum of
Yards and the creator of the brewery's famous tasting
room, Johnny Della Polla is no stranger to a good bar. So when he moved
to Queen Village a few years back and stopped in to neighborhood
mainstay the Lyons Den, he knew it was a great spot in need of an
upgrade. While the Den was good for a shot and a beer, Queens Villagers
were starting to expect a little more. So when it became available,
Della Polla got his chance. Along with partner Ashley Bohan, Della Polla
created
Kennett, a LEED-certified, artisanal-style eatery complete with
burgers, wood-oven pizzas and, of course, a dynamite beer list. The
restaurant opened for business this Saturday.
"Over the last ten years, the neighborhood has kind of changed where
families moved in and people started having kids," says Managing Partner
Johnny Della Polla. "The Lyons Den deserves a lot of credit. They were
here for ten years and when they came in, they were exactly what the
neighborhood wanted. But For Pete's Sake is right down the street, the
New Wave is right up the street. We wanted to do something different."
After deciding on a sustainable, craft tap-room feel, Della Polla
explored the building and saw that the name Kennett was carved into the
keystone out front and decided it would be the namesake of his new
venture. Soon after announcing the restaurant, Ted Kennett reached out,
saying his grandfather, a Ukrainian immigrant, had owned the
building in 1924 as a boarding house where he brewed moonshine in the basement. That speakeasy theme informs the cocktail list, developed by
Noble bartender Christian Gaal. Della Polla hopes touches like these will endear him to this evolving neighborhood.
"We tried to tie everything together," Della Polla says. "It's this green certified restaurant that also has this prohibition-era cocktail theme and this local food, craft beer theme. They all sort of just stuck."
Source: Johnny Della Polla, Kennett
Writer: John Steele