Penny Cluse Cafe makes way for Frankie's restaurant, coming next spring to Burlington

Talk about a tough act to follow, big shoes to fill or whichever well-worn phrase you prefer to describe a legend making way for an upstart: How does any restaurant succeed in the space that housed the Penny Cluse Café, aka Burlington’s most-beloved restaurant for the better part of 25 years?

The owners of Frankie’s, who expect to open their restaurant in that Cherry Street building in early April, recognize they’re facing a big task. They’re not daunted by it. They’re embracing it.

“It’s an incredible opportunity to take over a space like Penny Cluse,” said Jordan Ware, who’ll oversee the menu at Frankie’s.

“There’s a lot of positive energy surrounding this space and within the walls,” according to Cindi Kozak, general manager at Frankie’s.

There will be significant differences between Penny Cluse and Frankie’s. The former, run by Charles Reeves and Holly Cluse, was known for breakfast and lunch infused with California flair. Frankie’s will be a dinner place leaning heavily on Vermont farmers. Far from unknown Burlington entities, Ware and Kozak come to Frankie’s with prime Vermont-restaurant-industry pedigrees.

Experience at Farmhouse, Hen of the Wood

Ware, a Vermont native, attended The Culinary Institute of America. He then worked for head chef Eric Warnstedt as a line cook at Smokejacks, which was at the corner of Main and Church streets, where Honey Road is now.

Warnstedt went on to create one of Vermont’s most celebrated restaurants, Hen of the Wood, with locations in Waterbury and Burlington. Ware, a past James Beard Award nominee, served as chef de cuisine for Hen of the Wood for a decade. He also worked at another of the Burlington area’s top eateries, The Farmhouse Tap & Grill.

Kozak began her Vermont restaurant career at The Alchemist brewery and pub in Waterbury, which closed after flooding from Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. (The Alchemist, of course, has since found huge success in Stowe with its line of beers including Heady Topper.)

Kozak worked as a server at another Farmhouse property, Guild Tavern in South Burlington. She then spent 10 years shuttling between both Hen of the Wood restaurants, first as a server, then as assistant manager, then as general manager.

She and Ware have worked with each other for years. They talked in general terms from time to time about opening a restaurant together.

“That was the goal in the back of our minds,” Kozak said. Those vague plans didn’t take shape until Reeves and Cluse closed their ultra-popular eatery a year ago.

Cozy, charming, nourishing

Like Hen of the Wood, Penny Cluse was renowned for being a hard place to get into. Lines often formed on the sidewalk along Cherry Street as breakfast patrons waited for their chance to be seated in the homey eatery.

Kozak said she and Ware spoke with Reeves in February about plans for their restaurant. She said he was excited to welcome them into the building he owned and made food in for a quarter-century.

“Jordan and Cindi clearly have the experience to pull off a new restaurant,” Reeves told the Burlington Free Press in an email. “They were fans of Penny Cluse and are tapping into our positive vibe. They are making solid and much needed improvements to the space. They have assembled a good team to help them. I am very enthusiastic and supportive of their (endeavor).”

Those improvements in the building will be fairly minimal, centering on installing a new bar and what Ware called “light remodeling.” Frankie’s will seat about 70 customers, slightly more than Penny Cluse could accommodate, as the new restaurant will add room for diners in the upstairs space.

The owners want the same cozy, charming vibe Penny Cluse gave off, according to Kozak, a fun, energetic place that gives off plenty of warmth.

“Our main focus is that people feel good, safe, comfortable,” Kozak said.

“Nourished,” Ware added.

Investing in downtown Burlington

Patrons will be nourished by a still-to-be-developed menu. Rather than use the term farm-to-table, Kozak said she and Ware prefer to say the food at Frankie’s will be locally sourced with a chef-driven, rotating seasonal menu. Ware said they want the cuisine to be ambitious, playful, with their own sense of style.

“We want it to be different,” Kozak said. “We don’t want to paint ourselves in a corner with that (farm-to-table description).”

They are excited about working with the state’s deep pool of farms and farmers. “Vermont is growing in the food world. A lot of people come down from Montreal to Burlington” because of the city’s dining reputation, according to Ware.

“To have it (the farm community) be five miles away is such a treat,” Kozak said.

They’re seeking employees who are passionate about the food industry and see restaurant work as not just another job. They want to build a meaningful atmosphere, Kozak said, where people become a part of something.

Ware’s wife, Dana Parseliti, is general manager at Honey Road, also a James Beard Award-nominated restaurant. Frankie’s is named for Parseliti’s father, who was in the restaurant business in Connecticut for 50 years. That familial immersion in the restaurant industry has Ware wanting to share what he called the “tremendous beauty” of hospitality.

He and Kozak are fully aware of the struggles of Burlington in recent years, with increased gunfire incidents and other safety concerns, as well as the appearance of downtown buildings and streets. Much like the idea of moving into a much-loved restaurant, Ware and Kozak said they won’t let Burlington’s problems scare them off.

They hope as young entrepreneurs – Kozak is 39, Ware is 41 – they’ll help inspire others of their generation to invest in and be stewards of downtown Burlington.

“There is some intimidation,” Ware said, “but we’re running toward it rather than running away from it.”

Contact Brent Hallenbeck at bhallenbeck@freepressmedia.com.

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Penny Cluse Cafe is no more, but Frankie's is on its way to Burlington