Paul Bass Photo
Master chef Arturo Camacho onsite.
Chef Arturo Camacho is about to do what you would expect Arturo Camacho to do: open a new restaurant amid a pandemic.
He’d love to hold a big street bash when he launches Camacho Garage in Westville Village. But even the adventurous master chef knows that won’t be possible amid the Covid-19 pandemic. He plans to adhere strictly to government safety, distancing, and occupany rules.
“Of course I want to throw a party with mariachas and pinatas,” he reflected this week as crews prepared to transform the vacant 4,000-square-foot former New Haven Savings Bank branch (pictured below) at the corner of Fountain Street and Central Avenue into the new Mexican-themed restaurant and bar.
Camacho and his two partners nevertheless plan to have the building and the tacos and tequila ready for the public by the last week of June or first week of July.
And they’ll at least be ready to serve people outdoors: Plans call for extensive dining on patios, both on the Fountain and Central sides of the building. They plan to start with dinner, then add lunch, happy hour, and Sunday brunch.
The concept: “an elevated vintage garage theme, will serve Mexican street food, and a bar menu focused on beer, specialty cocktails, Tequila and other Mexican beverages,” according to the official description. The menu will includes small and large plates, ceviches, tostadas, empanadas, salads, homemade guacamole, flan, churros, and paletas. Camacho plans to source ingredients from local farmers, and offer gluten-free, vegetarian and dairy-free options.
The garage idea comes from the body shop Camacho worked in as a child in his hometown of Tijuana. His father operated the garage.
“He used to paint cars. We used to help him to wet-sand them, taking the paint off,” Camacho recalled.
The highlight came mid-day. “When it was lunch, he would make us the best tacos” with chorizo or avocado, or whatever else was freshest at the market that day. “I looked forward to going to work with him for the taco time.”
Camacho and partners Robert Bolduc and Marc Knight hired designer Christian P. Arkay-Leliever to capture the vintage feel of that memory. A publicist describes the design this way: “Featuring a color scheme of burnt red, vintage green, concrete grey and white, the space will feature an industrial chic look of concrete, wire, glass and steel, with the bar being the central energy to the indoor space. The bar itself will be steel-top, reminiscent of a vintage workbench, with leather covered machine shop-like bar stools providing seating for 30. A combination of high and low-top tables and banquettes will provide indoor seating for 78, made of reclaimed oak treated with an antique varnish, with blackened steel chairs with a green leather seat. Fully opening oversized garage doors will provide an abundance of light into the space, augmented by vintage industrial porcelain lighting fixtures from the exposed ceiling. Large graphic tattoos will provide brand inspired artwork to the indoor hand applied cement walls, as well as mark the brick outdoor space.”
Right now the interior looks more like this.
While one crew worked on transforming the inside this week, Edwin Mendez of Quality Roof Services was above, putting down new rubber.
Camacho is known for bold moves. And for success. The pending Westville opening reminds him of when he launched Roomba in Sherman’s Alley in 1999, ushering in a new wave of high-quality downtown restaurants offering a wide range of international cuisine.
“Doing a Cuban restaurant in a basement? You’re crazy, man!” people told him.
He turned out to be crazy smart.
He and his two partners have since opened and run New Haven’s Geronimo Tequila Bar and Southwest Grill, Shell & Bones Oyster Bar and Grill, and Bar Yoshi in Nantucket. They ran a taco bar in Branford for a while.
Westville has waited years for Camacho’s crew to follow up with plans to open the restaurant on the vacant corner spot. Camacho said a variety of reasons caused his team to “make a pause” on the project. The project won zoning relief in 2017 and site plan approval in 2019. Neighbors eagerly awaited its opening, but, despite an investment boom in town, work didn’t start until recently.
Now the crew is racing to open.
Exactly when the American economy is nosediving and existing small businesses are expected to close amid the pandemic.
“I like to defy the normal,” Camacho said.
He has the same “butterflies” in his stomach as when Roomba was opening, a combination of nerves and excitment.
Camacho asked for customers’ patience as the restaurant/bar opens in phases and observes the protocols of social distancing and other Covid-19 restrictions.
But still come hungry and thirsty.
“Here,” Camacho declared, “we’re going to celebrate life.”
