Montrose bistro may shutter
Casual Montrose Italian restaurant may soon take flight
Night Heron may soon fly away. Agricole Hospitality is seeking to sublease the space that’s currently occupied by its Montrose bistro.
Co-owner Morgan Weber confirms the listing but adds that the company doesn’t have a specific timeline for when the restaurant will close. Essentially, they’re waiting for the right offer.
“If we get an offer we dig, we’ll pull the trigger,” Weber says. “If not, we’ll keep rolling.”
Opened in 2018, Night Heron attempted to slide into Agricole’s roster as more of a bar than Coltivare and more of a restaurant than Eight Row Flint. Originally, it offered a bar-foward experience with food that consisted of a globally inspired take on shareable plates such as chicken liver mousse, salt and pepper pork ribs, and soba noodles with sirloin.
Last year, Agricole rebooted the establishment into more of a restaurant that featured a menu more in line with Coltivare, its smash hit Italian restaurant in The Heights. Changes included adding Coltivare’s signature black pepper spaghetti to the menu, making freshly-baked focaccia, and expanding the wine list. The changes have been generally well-received, but the restaurant still doesn't draw consistently enough to be viable in the long term.
“I think if we’d come out of the gate with the concept it is right now, we could have made it,” Weber says.
The building at 1601 W. Main St. has been home to a number of restaurants over the years, including Lowbrow, Sophia, and Cafe Artiste. Still, Weber expresses reluctance to label the property as “cursed.”
“I love the space. I love the patio. I think some tweaks could be made to get more natural light in there,” Weber says. “My thought is that it isn’t a cursed space. It’s just that people haven’t gone far enough.”
Night Heron remains open until Agricole gets the right offer. For now, the company’s culinary director, Vincent Huynh, has taken over as chef since the departure of Jonathan Pittman.
“We thought it would become that super cool neighborhood place. It did for a few people,” Weber says. “Just not enough of them.”
