Get your train ticket punched and take a ride with us as we take a look around the new Southern Rail restaurant. Last week started a new venture for local chef Justin Beckett, as he opened his second restaurant this time in uptown Phoenix. Aptly named as it sits directly along the light rail route, every time a train goes by and honks it horn, customers are encouraged to cheers, the “Southern Rail Salute” he calls it. It is another subtle reminder of the railroad inspired décor. It won’t make you feel as though you were at Thunder Mountain in Disney but you’ll get the hint. It is a beautifully designed space with plenty of windows and natural light to allow everyone with a view of the passing trains as they munch on the southern inspired cuisine.
Formally the site of the Beefeaters restaurant, it has been completely transformed into a mixed use complex. The complex is called The Newton, after the original owner of Beefeater’s. It includes Changing Hands Bookstore and Southern Rail as the open components and the final piece will be Southwest Gardener, which will open later this year. The restaurant has incorporated a lot of reuse from the original Beef Eaters. Wood from the original restaurant was used in some of the flooring. The booths which have been reupholstered were also saved. Those grand chandeliers were also saved and oddly work so well with the color palette of the space. So many interesting touches flow throughout the restaurant, not only will you see those original booths but take a look up above the bar, the shields on the wall are original Beefeater’s shields. So if you were a fan of Beefeaters, take solace in the fact that there was a lot of care taken to keep as much as possible of the original structure. It’s not all old pieces that will make you smile though, take a look at the community table with the zinc inlays it resembles the shape of old train tickets. The light fixtures bring to mind a traditional European train station; can’t you see your station stop dangling? If the wine cellar door is closed you can see it looks like a caboose. I won’t ruin the largest surprise but take a look up from your table if you are sitting inside and try to figure out what you are looking at on the ceiling. Its message sums up what Beckett wants to accomplish at Southern Rail.
If you ever visited Becket’s Table you probably are aware there are hidden pigs throughout the restaurant. A clever nod to the theme of the menu, which is all things pork. At Southern Rail you will begin to see southern touches above the kitchen. Instead of pigs, look out for pickling jars and southern cook books. Just like the pigs you’ll continually start to see it grow through donations from customers along with their own additions. You can see the personality of Chef Beckett come through in this new space and there are even subtle similarities to Beckett’s Table. But two of the major things you will love about this new venture is the outdoor area and the bar area. With 100 spaces outside there is significantly more space to enjoy the outdoors. The front patio will include as close to temperature control as possible with misters, fans, and coolers. So even as we enter into the summer it will most likely be a comfortable place to sit. During our cooler months there will be a fantastic fireplace surrounded by glass. It was important to Chef Beckett to keep the line of sight open throughout the restaurant. No matter where we went you always had a clear view of the kitchen. The bar allows for both inside and outside seating and it is so very inviting. During the day the way the bottles are placed it provides a very cool effect. But it is at night that this area will shine. Lighting is being installed under the shelves to lite them up and provide a visually stimulating experience.
There is much more to see and experience. There are already plans to expand their offerings, once dinner gets up and running smoothly, they will add both lunch and brunch offerings. He currently expects this to start after the 4th of July. Additional ideas like offering bagged lunches to take with you into the ballpark if you are heading to a game are being discussed. There are still some final touches that are being worked on and there is another big addition with banquet rooms on the way. The rooms will allow anyone to host large gatherings with the always amazing food catered by the Chef. If you have a small group there is also a smaller private party area inside the restaurant that you will be able to reserve as well. The one thing you won’t ever have to worry about stopping is seeing Chef Beckett walking around and meeting his customers during service, as he puts it, “That’s the fun part”.
For more information check out their ingredients page: http://whereshouldweeat.com/ingredients/southern-rail/