Union Public House now open in Pensacola's East Garden District

It’s official: Union Public House has opened the doors at its new location in Pensacola’s blooming East Garden District.

Union Public House, now positioned on 36 E. Garden St., has been one of Pensacola’s crown jewels of dining for the past seven years. Owner and chef Blake Rushing turned his previous location, a former 1934 Salvation Army, into an eclectic gathering place for date nights and everyday celebrations amongst friends. It is not a total goodbye to the 309 S. Reus St. location though, as he plans to open the space as a new concept next year.

UPH was known for being the kind of place that welcomed everyone. The food was masterfully crafted, but the atmosphere was unpretentious.

"It's every demographic. Like we want you sitting next to tattoo artists, next to hair stylists, next to doctors, like everybody is in here," Rushing said.

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The menu draws from Southern influences, but there is always a surprise element to ensure you’ve never tried a dish quite like it before. Rushing refers to this as the signature UPH “twist” that he strives for in every dish.

Rushing has collected culinary influences from all over the globe that he brought back with him to pour into his Pensacola restaurant. He remembers the London pubs he would frequent, the big-city energy of working in New York. He didn’t want his menu to ever back him into a corner, and his restaurant’s daily specials are constantly changing.

“So, our general idea from the get-go was just Southern food with a twist. Like I lived in London for two and a half years, in New York and Vancouver,” Rushing said. “But the idea is just always — all of our dishes have some sort of a ‘twist,’ something different on each dish that makes it Union Public House.”

Pensacola East Garden District developer Chad Henderson recognized the following that UPH was generating and planted the seed to Rushing that the restaurant could become the face of growing Pensacola’s East Garden District. The more Rushing thought about his proposal to relocate — the more he considered the restaurant's role in revitalizing that piece of downtown. He was also easily tempted by a brand-new building that didn’t experience a "waterfall" inside after a heavy rain.

Though the opening of the new location was originally slated for October, the restaurant got cooking months ahead of schedule.

Once the team got its final approvals to open their new location, they quietly unlocked the doors and welcomed guests in for the first time. But unlike a brand-new restaurant, there wasn't an overarching pressure of trying to prove themselves or their concept. Regulars poured in to fill the tables, and Rushing's team of over seven years didn't a miss a beat when smoothly operating in the spacious, open-concept kitchen.

Despite the glitz and glamour of the new space with leather chairs and muted green tile backlashes — it was still Union. Which means when their sparkling new silver fridge arrived, it didn't last long before they had local artist Poppy Garcia cover it in paint, and have each of their staff put their signature on it, calling it the Grafitti Bridge Fridge.

Other subtle Pensacola Easter eggs are strung all throughout the restaurant, like the dainty flower murals painted on the walls by artist Austin Garcia. The names under them may sound familiar, “Wisteria,” “Magnolia” and “Azalea,” which are all tributes to some of Pensacola’s most notable bars.

Rushing's community-focused mindset also applies to his team, both front of house and back, that all work cohesively together to generate ideas, then run them. The name “Union” is an accurate reflection of the collaboration in the kitchen. He wanted the restaurant to be a place that everyone has input, and there is a sense of pride that comes with replicating a dish that one of the other chefs created. They are motivated personally to do each other's dishes justice.

Many of the original UPH crowd-favorite dishes have landed on the new location's, like the open-faced brisket patty melt or Rushing's signature scotch eggs. But the menu will also feature a variety of new items that were brainstormed specifically for the new space. Naturally, all of their best new menu ideas came from a staff barbecue at Rushing's house over shared bottles of wine.

"We all had such a good time too, thank God we wrote it down," Rushing said.

One of the byproducts of this dinner party being the Sunburst NC Trout, a bright citrus/trout roe beurre balance bathes the fish with all the right notes of tangy citrus, balanced by a sharp and slightly bitter grilled raddachio and the pop of sweet, crunchy snap peas.

Another new favorite being the grilled hangar steak, which uses a black garlic bordelaise sourced from Pensacola’s own Black Garlic Market, and takes a spin on traditional gnocci by turning it into a potato cake served with charred baby tomato, summer squash, fresh herbs and shallot confit.

New dessert items, like the restaurant’s cookie jar, may easily become part of UPH's claim to fame by allows diners to dip their fingers into a bear-shaped cookie jar and pull out their choice of in-house made cookie. Rushing said the experience leans into the all the nostalgia of looking for a sweet treat as a kid.

But, the dessert doesn't rely on just the serotonin release from the Winnie the Pooh jar for its success. The flavors of the cookies are far from anything your grandma kept in her pantry and have the Union twist, like the brown butter miso chocolate chip.

To compliment the unique new menu items come a line of interesting cocktails to match them. The ice is sliced off the block and all ingredients are fresh, not a flavoring intended to taste like the real thing.

Take the Blackberry Fizz for example, which is made with vodka and rum, fresh blackberry, aloe, citrus and topped with a housemade lemon foam. The cocktail list goes on to include a wide variety of others you likely have not tried before, like the Smoked Bloody Maria topped with sweet heat bacon salt, or the Bringing Snack Back #1 which is a gin martini paired with a pork rind with caviar.

"From day one, my thing was, 'Union is known for this tremendous food. And so like, let's just not screw it up. Let's put flavors forward that accent the food that make you want to eat more and drink more," said Nate Simmons, Union's bar and front of house manager.

Even though creativity is essential to Rushing, the excellence behind each dish or drink is not supposed to be unapproachable, and he feels the best things appear simplistic and pleasantly surprise you.

This simplicity is modeled through the restaurant's new chef's table, which can privately sit up to 16 with a glass window view of the kitchen at work.

Right now, the chef’s table will follow the current menu that Union Public House offers. But eventually, he hopes to give it a special menu made to be sharable, where the party has the room for the night, and the family-sized portions are passed around communally. The experience is intended to give diners the opportunity to enjoy the people they are with over a feast of good food.

Although the restaurant has received a slew of fancy upgrades, such as the chef's table, chandeliers and even a meat curing chest, Rushing intends to stay close to its Pensacola roots.

Union Public House is open from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. for a bar menu on Monday through Thursday, then from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. for a full menu. Starting next week, the restaurant will be open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Rushing plans to eventually expand lunch hours and add a weekend brunch. Reservations are available on OpenTable but are not required. The bar area is first-come, first-served.

More information can be found on the Union Public House website and Facebook page.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Union Public House relocated to Pensacola's East Garden District