Chuck Woods has been in the hospitality industry for more than a decade, working his way from line cook to sous chef at restaurants around Kansas City and Chicago.
When it came time for him to execute his own vision, he wanted to go outside of his comfort zone.
“I’ve come across some great chefs who have influenced my cooking and how I manage a kitchen,” Woods said. “But I wanted to do something different, that I’ve never done before.”
COVID-19 lockdowns gave him time to experiment while making preparations to open his own restaurant with his wife, Barbara. Also a hospitality industry veteran, she will serve as Falling Rabbit’s general manager and beverage director.
The result is Falling Rabbit, set to debut Nov. 28 in mixed-use development Parsons Alley in Duluth. The restaurant, named for a poem that Woods’ mother often recited to him during his childhood, will focus on “family, community and hospitality,” said Barbara Woods.
Chuck Woods developed an “ever-changing, seasonally-driven” menu with ingredients sourced as much as possible from local growers and at least one dish being switched out every week. The opening menu includes dishes like a Reuben bao made with Wagyu brisket, Comté cheese and kraut nestled in a rye dumpling; cod with turnip and heirloom beans; and skirt steak with yams, mushrooms and shishitos. Among desserts, look for blood orange custard and ginger cake. A “Little Bunnies” menu includes a kids charcuterie plate complete with milk shot and a grilled cheese and avocado smash sandwich.
On the beverage side, Barbara Woods has curated a wine list with a focus on family-owned and operated wineries in the U.S. and “sustainable, organic and biodynamic wines whenever possible,” she said. “We tried to take out any pretention. We want it to be as approachable and light-hearted as possible.” The beverage list will also include a small selection of local and regional beers and a craft cocktail list “with whimsical takes on classics,” she said.
Specialty drinks include the Call Me Tomorrow made with vodka, sage, carrot and apple brandy, and the Flip Hop made with cocoa nib carpano antica, fernet branca and an egg.
The space was designed with Leslie Ellsworth of local firm Studio SOGO. Design elements include velvets, brass accents – including 2,500 brass tacks hammered into the wall – and 6-foot custom brass light fixtures, as well as “hidden rabbit statues and unconventional, albeit subtle artwork, wall art (by Jamie Hester) that moves (interspersed between paintings are frames that actually peer into the kitchen beyond), floors that seemingly climb up the walls, and even quirky bronze light fixtures that emerge from a floor-to-ceiling mirrored wall leading the patron down the restroom corridor,” Ellsworth said. “This space was designed to entice the senses and perhaps even raise a few eyebrows.
Falling Rabbit also has an outdoor patio that will seat up to 40 and that the Woods’ plan to utilize into the winter with the use of heaters. Initially, the Woods intend to focus on dine-in service, with the possibility of offering takeout and delivery in the coming months.
Ultimately, despite some delays because of COVID-19, the couple says they were still able to move forward with their original plans for their restaurant intact.
“We wanted to follow through with our original vision and hope for the best,” said Barbara Woods. “If we need to pivot, we’re open to it, but we’re hoping we don’t have to.”
Falling Rabbit will be open 4-10 p.m. Sundays and Tuesdays-Thursdays, and 4-11 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays, with weekend brunch coming at a later date.
3580 W. Lawrenceville St., Duluth. 770-623-1452, fallingrabbit.com.
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