Andrea Sims and Krim Boughalem inside the National Provisions Beer HallPhoto by Sarah Jane Sanders
The second phase of a sprawling food and beverage experience from Table Three Ten owners Krim Boughalem and Andrea Sims has opened on the corner of Walton and National.
National Provisions Beer Hall, a European-styled beer bar and restaurant that offers American meats, sausages and cheeses, joins National Boulangerie, a bakery and coffee shop that opened at the start of December in the same building, part of blossoming National Avenue.
When the Boulangerie opened, the husband-and-wife team of Boughalem and Sims planned to open this newest phase as a wine shop and beer garden, but Boughalem said in order to meet state licensing requirements regarding alcohol sales in proportion to food, they decided to go beer only.
After phase three, a restaurant to be called National Brasserie, opens, Boughalem said they will sell wine by the glass only on site.
The couple had been planning National Provisions even before they opened Wine + Market back in early 2008. When they sold the Jefferson Street shop in 2011, it was to concentrate on their popular wine bar and restaurant, Table Three Ten, and to get Provisions off the ground.
“Two years was our goal to open everything,” Boughalem said at the time of the Boulangerie’s opening in a room with walls clad in white marble while pink marble adorns the counters and tabletops.
Provisions’ Beer Hall boasts 145 beers that can be consumed on site or remain sealed for package sales.
“If you wanted a beer while you were here at lunch, you can take one with you for later,” Boughalem said.
Lunch options that had been served at National Boulangerie since its opening will be moved in June to the Beer Hall, which instead of the small café table of the Boulangerie has long biergarten tables and benches.
The fourth and final phase, a market, will offer fish, charcuterie, other meats and cheeses. The couple had initially planned to get that phase up and running first, but they decided to start with the bakery so it could supply their current restaurant and other aspects of the business.
The back of the building houses a massive kitchen with the ability to cure meats, bake large quantities of breads and pastries, rotisserie chickens and service a large menu.
“That took longer because it was more advanced,” Boughalem said.
Everything that will be served in what will be the National Brasserie will be made in-house, using as much local supply as possible.