Cypress Table owner to open waterfront restaurant at former Bonefish Willy's this fall

Patricia Rieger loves a challenge.

After two decades in the restaurant business, she started Cypress Table in 2019 with $6,000. Since then, with the help of husband Andy Acosta, she's transformed the boutique catering company into a successful food truck, then into the cafe-in-residence at Rockledge Gardens and, last fall, a brick-and-mortar restaurant in Cocoa Village.

In the past 11 months, the micro-cafe with less than a dozen tables and a hidden patio out back has become a go-to spot for creative Florida-inspired street food.

Now, as the Delannoy Avenue restaurant approaches its first birthday, Rieger's about to take another leap.

This fall, she and business partner Corey Russ plan to open the Brevardian Riverfront, a restaurant that will be a culinary riff on Brevard's riverfront resort past.

Isn't that a lot to pack into four years? Yes, Rieger said, her eyes wide behind big, wire-frame glasses.

"I kind of love it, though," she said.

Russ bought the former Bonefish Willy's in January. The restaurant, which closed at the first of the year, has crouched on the bank of the Indian River near the north end of Pineapple Avenue in Melbourne for more than 30 years, with a small dining room and kitchen housed in a circa 1910 building and a spacious deck on the water.

He's long been a fan of Rieger's food, so he called and asked her to join him in reviving what was once a local favorite.

"When Corey approached me, there wasn't even a thought," she said. "I said yes."

While they're making several updates to the restaurant, Bonefish Willy's has such a history in Brevard, Russ and Rieger are proceeding with caution.

"We've had people stop by and say, 'Don't screw it up. Don't make it fancy,'" Russ said. "We're going to try and keep all the charm and introduce some of Patricia's fine cuisine."

Bonefish Willy's had a small dining room that fronted Pineapple Avenue and a glorious outdoor bar and deck on the water. What a lot of people didn't know, Russ said, is that the building also included a spacious riverfront apartment that hadn't been used for anything but storage in recent years. That's about to change.

The kitchen is being expanded to include the former dining room, and the apartment is being transformed into an intimate, but roomy dining room with a view.

The deck and bar will remain, and a lower deck that runs beside the new dining room will be available for private event rentals.

The goal is to maintain the warmth of the old Florida orange grove house while adding the charm and casual elegance of a turn-of-the-century Florida resort that serves fresh, local food.

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Before moving to Brevard, Rieger spent several years in Gainesville, where she discovered "Cross Creek Cookery," a 1942 cookbook by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, author of "The Yearling."

"History and food are two of my favorite things," she said.

The recipes from the book inspired her to combine those loves by creating contemporary takes on Florida classic dishes. Flavors from the Caribbean and Cuba also influence her cooking. The menu at Cypress Table is populated with Rieger's twists on traditional favorites, like her Birria Cuban sandwich, made with tender, stewed birria beef, Swiss cheese, serrano ham and house pickles, pressed on Cuban bread and served with broth for dipping. There's also the Belgian Boar, smoked pork, Florida honey hot sauce aioli and sharp cheddar pressed on a house waffle.

Cypress Table's casual fare, including the decadent doughnuts, is prefect to grab for a picnic in nearby Riverfront Park.

At The Brevardian, dishes will draw from similar influences, but with more of a fine-dining feel.

Rieger has been experimenting with johnnycakes, cornmeal flatbreads once a staple on the Atlantic Coast. Instead of a flat, pancake-like creation, though, she's working on a light, airy johnnycake soufflé. There's also a beet and orange risotto with pan-seared grouper. Shrimp and grits will be served with a smoked tomato broth. The smoked heritage pork chip will get an orange marmalade glaze.

Like Cypress Table, The Brevardian menu will change with the seasons and what's available locally.

The goal is to turn the restaurant into something the feels fresh and new, but is also familiar.

"When I called her, she said she was interested, but not if it was going to be a crab shack and not a tiki bar," Russ said.

Instead, Rieger and Russ are going for casual, but elegant, with lots of charm. In the dining room, food will be served on antique china plates. On the deck, guests should feel comfortable docking their boat and walking up in board shorts and flip flops. (Yes, the restaurant will be accessible by boat.)

Craft cocktails will be served inside and out.

Rieger already is putting together a management team that includes people who are excited about the food and the restaurant.

"We want people who want to grow with the company and want to be with us for the long haul," she said.

That includes chef Ryan Quinn, who has worked in local kitchens including the Playalinda Brewing Co. Brix Project in Titusville and Coasters beachside.

"We have a really good food banter," she said. "We're food soulmates."

So Rieger can pop back and forth between both places, she also has hired chef Paul Brouard, who has worked at The Chef's Table in Suntree and CuiZine in Satellite Beach, to lead the kitchen at Cypress Table.

Rieger's recent experience may be with smaller operations. Cypress Table has a staff of eight, one of whom is her husband, but she has worked in bigger restaurants, too. The Brevardian will seat 106 with a staff of about 30.

Russ brings 20 years of military experience to the table. He was in the Army Special Forces. After that, he founded a medical device company, which he sold in 2020. He moved to Brevard from North Carolina in 2021. He's quick to point out he's not new to Florida. His family has been in the state since the 1950s. He was raised in Miami.

"I wanted to be some place quieter," he said.

His military experience has served him well as he acclimates to the restaurant world. Both require flexibility and team dynamics, he said.

He and Rieger hoped to open The Brevardian in the spring, but both wanted to take their time and get everything right, from staffing and décor to the food and cocktails. Right now, they're targeting a late September or early fall opening.

They can't wait for all of Brevard to experience the results of their partnership.

"This is all I ever wanted," Rieger said.

"Your food was calling my name," Russ said.

Suzy Fleming Leonard is a features journalist with more than three decades of experience. Reach her at sleonard@floridatoday.com. Find her on Facebook: @SuzyFlemingLeonard or on Instagram: @SuzyLeonard. 

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: New riverfront eatery planned at Bonefish Willy's site in Melbourne