WILMINGTON — Come Thursday, the South Front District will welcome its newest eatery to the neighborhood.
READ MORE: ‘Keep it very Americana’: New tavern coming to S. Front District from seasoned restaurateur
ALSO: New S. Front coffee shop leans into Asian techniques, flavors
South Front Tavern will unlock its doors to the public on Aug. 1, operating for dinner only — except on Sunday when brunch will be served starting at 10 a.m.
According to owner Mark Zecher, the goal is to get his 40 staff acquainted with the new restaurant’s menu and work out kinks before incorporating lunch hours.
“But it will only be lunch on Friday and Saturday eventually,” he said, “and we will see how busy it is to determine if we should add more days.”
South Front Tavern took over the space from The Second Glass, which shuttered earlier this spring. As soon as Zecher had keys to the establishment, he also had his contractors lined up to help with transforming the space. It needed little upfit, which made his deadline more achievable to open within three months.
A wall once erected in the dining area has been removed to open up the restaurant. Every seat in the house has a view of one of two large TVs behind the bar, comfortably situating 10 or so diners. Zecher’s idea was to create a neighborhood destination as the tavern surrounds multiple residential properties, including South Front Apartments, for people to grab a beer or craft cocktail, enjoy elevated pub fare and catch a game or hang out.
South Front Tavern seats around 80 or so, with indoor dining hosting multiple high-top four-seaters surrounded by a half-dozen or so two-seaters aligning the windows; banquette seating from Second Glass remains. Patio dining, surrounded by plants and foliage, overlooks the action at neighboring shops in the South Front District, such as Yoga Salt and Cafe Mata upstairs, or Satellite next door.
Paella and gumbo ya-ya 
Shrimp and roasted corn bisque
On Tuesday night Satellite owners Dusty Ricks and Shannon Dunne were in attendance for a cocktail-hour preview, along with 60 other people, including area foodies and writers, Wilmington Mayor Pro Tem Clifford Barnett and Terry Espy from Momentum Properties. Espy helped broker the deal for the Zechers to take over the restaurant.
“Isn’t it beautiful?” she said, approaching the entry.
“This is the true mayor, right here,” Zecher responded with a hug. “It came out better than I imagined. We call it ‘industrial chic.'”
The aesthetic mixes metal and wood, from the light fixtures down to the dining sets, juxtaposed against exposed ceilings, leather lounges and feminine chandeliers. Zecher said he spent an afternoon drilling holes into metal planters that cover the patio lighting, by proxy creating speckles of illumination against the walls at nightfall.
The menu is influenced by various Americana flavors, also created by Zecher and executed by Chef Ken Hanson, formerly of Smoke on the Water. Zecher said all the recipes were devised from his time working as a chef and restaurateur across the nation. They blend flavors of Texas and New Orleans, New Mexico and New York.
Monday staff had a run-through of the 30-plus items, with Tuesday being their first time presenting smaller bites to customers. Wednesday will be a friends-and-family soft opening, with doors opening to the public Thursday.
Mini crab cakes. 
Short-rib five-chili chili. 
Three-mushroom and truffle oil toasts.
Tuesday night’s crowds took to empanadas, wild mushroom toasts and cilantro-lime shrimp quesadillas, from the appetizer and handheld menus; prices are from $8 to $17. Bayou paella and gumbo ya-ya also were praised, as were skewers of skirt steak, all featured on the entree menu, with prices up to $32
“It was fun to create,” Zecher said, “almost like reliving my youth, my career favorites. You know how your palate brings you back to all those different memories? The profiles: they’re like a flavor bomb. … And the chef has just embraced everything and is executing it consistently.”
Zecher, who has owned multiple restaurants with partners in the past — including in Long Island and Huntington, New York — said creating the tavern felt more special. His local staff, including general manager Rex Horrell, have helped fulfill the vision.
“With partners, it’s always more work,” Zecher said. “And I’m grateful for those past experiences, but this has all of my heart and soul put into. All the decision-making has been mine and my wife, Donna’s, so we really are embracing it.”
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