New restaurant opening in high-profile SLO spot. Take a look inside Feral Kitchen + Lounge
A new restaurant has been quietly under development in downtown San Luis Obispo for months — and now it’s ready to be revealed.
Feral Kitchen + Lounge was expected to officially open at 725 Higuera St. on Friday, taking over the spot that was previously Mother’s Tavern restaurant and nightclub.
Mother’s Tavern — known as MoTav for short — closed in May after it was purchased by Eric Peterson of North County Restaurant Group, which also owns Atascadero eateries Barley and Boar, Cielo Ristorante and Rooftop Bar, and Country Touch Cafe, as well as Jack’s Bar and Grill and Kitchenette Coffee and Brunch in Templeton and Touch of Paso Cafe in Paso Robles, among other businesses.
The new downtown business is co-owned by Colin Weyrick, a repeat business partner in Peterson’s restaurant projects.
At the time of the MoTav purchase, Peterson told The Tribune that the once-popular spot was in need of a major overhaul.
Since then, his company has been working to update the inside of the space as it prepares to reopen as Feral Kitchen + Lounge.
Hallie Elizabeth, director of marketing and design for North County Restaurant Group, said Sept. 27 that renovating and redesigning the space “has been a fun project.”
“When we first started, we had every intention of keeping Mother’s Tavern as it was,” she told The Tribune. “But as the concept developed, we realized it just needed some love — it needed an overhaul.”
New SLO spot aims to be place for ‘really good food, great conversations’
Elizabeth said the new concept for the space is a simple one: “Really good food and a place to have great conversations.”
“We tried to make it a place where everywhere you look, there’s a conversation piece,” she said. “And you can just sit there with your friends, your family, have good times and eat good food.”
As the de facto creative director for the redevelopment, Elizabeth said she was most looking forward to actually having people in the space, enjoying the atmosphere she helped create.
“I was able to really just intentionally source everything that we put in there,” she said.
One of the key differences between the new business and the old is the switch from something of a nightclub — with pounding music and a crowded dance floor — to a much more laid-back establishment, she said.
Central to that will be the upstairs lounge that features comfy sofas and mood lighting, as well as the mood-lit bookshelves that decorate much of the establishment.
“We really wanted to bring that vibe into San Luis, to have a spot where people can have a conversation and not have to scream over the blaring music kind of thing,” she said.
What’s on the menu?
The team is probably most proud, however, of the menu for the new restaurant, Elizabeth said.
“The menu is really exciting,” she said. “We have some — I don’t want to say approachable, but I feel they are very approachable — foods.”
Those include popular bar items like cheese fries and mac cheese, though there are also some more “eclectic” items on the menu like sweet breads, duck confit fries and bone marrow.
Prices span from $12 for a grazing plate of foccacia bread, butter, honey, crispy fried sage and candied walnuts to a $34 grilled hangar steak entree with crispy fries and cucumber-cilantro salad.
The business also will also sell a slew of signature alcoholic drinks, ranging between $15 and $17, and several mocktails all priced at $14.
“It really is such an eclectic space, and I think the menu offers something for everyone,” Elizabeth said. “We’re hopeful that everyone will enjoy it and find something that they love.”
For more information
Feral Kitchen + Lounge planned expected to hold its official grand opening on Friday.
Once open, the business hours will be 5 to 9 p.m. for dinner on Sunday through Wednesday, with the bar closing at 10 p.m.
On Thursday through Saturday, the business will be open for “snack time” — featuring appetizers for $5 or less — from 3 to 5 p.m., followed by normal dinner from 5 to 9 p.m. and then another snack time from 9 p.m. until closing.
For more information, visit Feralkitchenandlounge.com or call 805-465-2211.
This story was originally published October 4, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
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