Locals Soon To Open New Restaurant In Warsaw
WARSAW — Two locals who previously have been hosting pop-up dinner events under the name Rua, are now opening a restaurant under the same name.
Entrepreneurs Andrew Jones and Andrew Holladay have become partners in this endeavour to open Rua tentatively this fall.
Both Jones and Holladay have grown up in the area and known each other for years. It was not until recently they committed to going into business together. Jones has been working in restaurants for much of his life. For the past six years, he’s been working at his own catering business, Viand Chef Services. Now Viand has transferred to become Rua.
Holladay had been pursuing a teaching degree at Indiana University, when he had a change of heart and decided he wanted to cook instead. From there, he moved to Chicago to learn how to cook. Now Holladay has moved back to the area to partner with Jones to open a restaurant.
Before jumping completely into opening a restaurant, they decided to hold four pop-up dinner events to test the waters. These pop-up events were by reservation only and were held at different locations. The last pop-up event they held had 100 seats sold out within three hours. Consequently, they decided to add a second night to the event.
The team’s vision for the restaurant is to create a place in which they can bring international cuisine to Warsaw, but in an approachable way. While they did not give a specific menu for the restaurant, Holladay mentioned they want to provide, “Our interpretation of global food. Anything you might find in the world but not fussy.”
“More than being authentic, we want to be really good,” said Jones. The two desire to have a restaurant filled with character and authenticity.
Holladay explained that, “We want to strip away trends and do something because it’s tasty.” The two value serving quality food that is good, without being worried about whether something is trendy or not.
Rua is currently under construction. Rua will include a full-service bar separate from the dining area allowing for families to be able to eat in the restaurant.