A select group of roughly 100 invited guests were treated to a sneak peek Saturday evening of the new 21st Street Taphouse at a private preview party to benefit the United Way of Indian River County. The striking restaurant, located in the Modern One Building, is owned by brothers Marc, Ken and Kevin Bortnick, who hope to formally open by September.
The suggestion to introduce the brothers to the community with a charitable fundraiser came from fellow-Modern One tenants Gail Frederickson, firm administrator at Rossway Swan Tierney Barry, and Jodi Simon, Senior Property Manager at Lambert Commercial Real Estate.
“United Way popped out of our heads when we were talking about it,” said Frederickson, noting that RSTB partner Mike Swan co-chaired the recent United Way Campaign with wife Leslie Swan, IRC Supervisor of Elections.
At a whopping $2.868 million, it was the most money ever raised and surprised everyone by besting an ambitious $2.63 million goal.
“I think it was attributable to an amazing group of hundreds of volunteers that helped in different ways. We were just lucky to actually chair it,” said Mike Swan. They also credited their success to an improved economy, lots of good publicity, personalized notes to top donors from the year before and their attendance at events all through the year.
This year’s campaign is being headed for the first time by a group of seven women. “They actually call them the Sensational Seven,” he said, adding with a smile, “The women are taking over.”
“Which will be very exciting, because it’s totally different from anything they’ve done before,” added Leslie Swan. “But they’re seven well-connected women so it should be really interesting.”
“I’m just glad we were ahead of them. I think they’re going to set a goal that’s going to knock our socks off,” Mike said in agreement.
The Sensational Seven, known also as the Giddy Up Gals for their frequent trips to dude ranches out west, include Sue Tompkins, Kerry Bartlett, Susan Chenault, Janie Graves Hoover, Leah Muller, Lenora Ritchie and Katie Kirk.
“They are fired up, too; they are really ready to go,” said Tompkins, noting that they possess a wide variety of expertise which should be an asset to the task at hand.
Meanwhile, guests mingled while enjoying cocktails, music, raffles and a buffet of delicious hors d’oeuvres, delighting in the newly transformed restaurant, which promises to be one of Vero’s more popular haunts. Sleek yet inviting, a 38-seat bar with a gorgeous copper finish dominates the space; ringed by plenty of high-top counters and comfortable booths. Although not a sports bar, there are plenty of flat-screen TVs to showcase the big games.
“We want it to be like a neighborhood bar, but more upscale. A place you can come in a shirt and tie but also shorts; there’s no dress code,” said Marc Bortnick. “We’ll include a lot of local fish and vegetables; whatever is in season. Everything is fresh; nothing is frozen.”
With 48 craft beers on tap, a full liquor license and a menu of items from lunch to dinner and beyond, it’s sure to be a hit.
