Friends Open 'Fusion' Restaurant In Downtown Warsaw Location
Posted
Jennifer Peryam-jperyam@timesuniononline.com
Two friends will soon see their dream become a reality when they open a restaurant together.
Scott Howell and Paul Nowak said they will open their casual fine dining restaurant in Downtown Warsaw in late September to early October.
The restaurant, 115 S. Buffalo St., will be called Fusion and serve lunch and dinner. The restaurant will be across the street from Ruby.Howell and Nowak, Warsaw residents and former Tippecanoe Lake Country Club employees in Leesburg, purchased the building Aug. 15.
The building previously housed Mosaique Restaurant, but has been vacant for the past two years, Nowak said.
The friends looked at a few locations in Warsaw to open the restaurant, but decided on the downtown location.
"We fell in love with the location because of its tranquility, and when we walked through the doors it felt like home," Nowak said.
They have spent the past five weeks repainting the building's interior and have plans to lay new carpet.
Howell and Nowak first met when they worked at Tippecanoe Lake Country Club, Leesburg, and bring their managerial and cooking experiences to Fusion.
Nowak, 33, a 1993 Warsaw Community High School graduate, will serve as the restaurant's general manager.
Howell, 34, a 1992 WCHS graduate, will serve as chef.
Nowak, a level-one somelier, was general manager at Tippecanoe Country Club for three years and was assistant manager for two years.
Howell served as a chef at the country club for seven years after he studied culinary arts at Johnson & Wales University, Charleston, S.C.
Howell and Paul came up with the name Fusion for their restaurant because they said it represents how different the two are.
"I am married with kids, but Scott is not, and our personalities are different, but we fused together to start the restaurant," Nowak said.
Howell said he is excited to open the restaurant.
"It's nice to be in the historical Warsaw downtown and we hope to create a new history," Howell said. "Hospitality is a labor of love and we encourage patrons to experience that when they walk through our doors."
The restaurant will feature a main dining room that will seat 140 people, a full-service bar and a banquet room that seats 40 people.
He said the restaurant will be a non-traditional dining experience.
The full-service bar will offer more than 20 different wines by the glass and 50 wines by the bottle.
Instead of the menu identifying items by lunch, dinner and appetizers, menu choices read: Setting the Mood, Garden of Eden, Afternoon Delights and The Main Event.
Howell said one of his favorite menu items to prepare are his slow-roasted pork ribs.
"I have spent 20 years perfecting my rib recipe," Howell said.
Under appetizers, or Setting the Mood, menu items include flatbread, ravioli, jicama shrimp, barbecue chicken nachos and crab toasts.
Sandwiches are served with sides of french fries, onion rings, a House Salad, cup of soup, cottage cheese or fresh seasonal fruit.
Sandwiches, or Afternoon Delights, include The Burger, The Philly, The Muffaletta and The Gratin.
Also on the menu are pork ribs, seafood boulliabaise, lamb, filet mignon, t-bone and flatiron steak.
Customers can choose from salads, including grilled shrimp salad, scallop and spinach salad, pan seared tuna and tomato and hail caesar.
A variety of desserts also will be on the menu.
Nowak said on average lunch will cost a person $8-$11 and dinner averages around $16 to $35 per person.
Lunch will be served Wednesday through Monday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The restaurant will be closed on Tuesdays.
Dinner will be served Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. and on Fridays and Saturdays from 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.
The last seating each night will be a half hour before closing.
Interviews will begin in two weeks, and they plan to hire six cooks, eight servers, two bartenders and three to four busboys, according to Nowak.
