Restaurant features new menu and stage for live bands—
Owners introduce a new Peach’s Grill

PHOTO BY DIANE CHIDDISTER The owners of Peach’s Grill, Miri Nasoff and Don Beard, standing beside the restaurant’s renovated bar. Peach’s recently completed a renovation project, more than doubling its space and adding a performance stage and dance area.

The back of the wooden bar at the newly renovated Peach’s Grill might look familiar to longtime local residents — it served DGs before that restaurant closed several years ago and, even further back, was thought to have been located at the Glen Cafe.

But the back of the bar — its front was created by local craftsman Paul DeLaVergne — is the only historic touch to the restaurant, which opened its renovated space almost two weeks ago. Everything else is new, including a changed menu, a wide assortment of draft beers and, most importantly, the restaurant’s focus on music. Peach’s kitchen, which closed in February for the renovation, will once again serve food beginning Tuesday, May 13.

“We tried to craft the nicest music venue we could,” said building owner Don Beard, whose wife, Miri Nasoff, owns and manages the business.

Started in October, the renovation project centered on adding space so that people could listen to live music and dance. By enclosing the former drive-through area, about 3,200 square feet were added to the business, bringing the total space to 5,000 square feet, seating 210 people.

The new Peach’s also includes a stage for the live bands, which will appear every Friday and Saturday night, said Beard, who compared his new venue to the Canal Street Tavern in Dayton. Peach’s will offer a variety of live music, including folk, blues, acoustic and jazz, and will also feature weekly events, such as a Monday night acoustic open mike, Wednesday evening DJ dance night and Thursday evening jazz.

Poetry events and comedians might also show up in the new Peach’s, Beard said.

“It’s a stage,” he said. “It’s there to use.”

Beard and Nasoff decided to offer live music after they received an overwhelming response to the live bands they brought to Peach’s last summer, said Beard, adding that people swarmed to the restaurant on nights they offered bands in the parking lot. However, the outdoor venue caused noise problems and, when they brought bands inside, people had no room to dance. The need seemed obvious.

“We’re trying to offer people something they seemed to want and need in the worst possible way,” he said.

Before planning the renovation, he and Nasoff visited many area music venues and, Beard said, “encountered many places where the music seemed to be tacked on.” In contrast, they tried to design a comfortable, light-filled space with music as the focus, where “wherever you sit, it’s a good spot to see,” he said.

Music lovers are often sophisticated beer drinkers, and Beard and Nasoff are offering something for their tastes as well. The bar will feature 20 beers on draft, including several micro brews, with a new tap system that combines nitrogen and carbon dioxide to give an especially fresh taste to the draft beers, said Beard.

The restaurant’s new kitchen features a new chef, 20-year veteran Patty Frank, and Peach’s menu has “changed dramatically,” said Beard. New dinner entrees include Rasta Raspberry Salmon, Creole Pasta Jambalaya, Vegetable Torta and Peach’s Barbecue Hanger Steak, along with appetizers such as Grilled Portabella Florentine and Spinach and Pesto Artichoke Dip. The lunch menu will include new wraps and gourmet salads, along with some favorites from the old menus, said Beard.

Peach’s will present Reggae band Seefari tomorrow (Friday). Those interested in keeping up with Peach’s new look and new offerings are encouraged to visit its Web site, www.peachsgrill.com.

—Diane Chiddister