Avenir has a place to sit down for dinner. Smoke & Maple, the gastropub whose story starts in a garage, opened to the public on Monday, Oct. 12, at Avenir Town Center on Northlake Boulevard in Palm Beach Gardens. It serves dinner every night, has a daily happy hour and takes reservations, and it has its own club for bourbon and whiskey drinkers.

For people living in Avenir, the town center has so far meant errands: GL Homes announced in May that Publix and Walgreens were open, with restaurants to follow. Smoke & Maple is a restaurant built for staying a while.

Four people, $6,000 and a garage

The restaurant tells its origin story on its own site: it started with four people, six thousand dollars, a garage and an idea. It is run by HOLD Hospitality Group, which began as a small catering company feeding local athletic teams and lists four co-founders and managing partners.

  • Tara Dodson runs service and hospitality operations.
  • Nick Lanier writes the menu, which the group calls Rustic Refined: comfort food from around the world, cooked with more polish.
  • Joel Hartunian handles day-to-day restaurant management.
  • Brendan O'Hara, who comes from a mixology background, runs the cocktail and spirits program.

Smoke & Maple is HOLD's first full restaurant, and the group says it plans to grow from here at a measured pace.

Three rooms

The space is split into three parts. The lounge has tufted leather, crystal chandeliers and a vintage map of Florida on the wall, set up for after-dinner drinks and quieter conversation. The bar sits in the middle of the restaurant, a horseshoe lined with rare spirits and craft beer. The dining room has blue velvet banquettes, warm lighting and high ceilings.

What is on the menu

There are three menus: dinner, bar and happy hour. The dinner menu runs from rare game to fresh seafood, in keeping with the Rustic Refined idea. The bar pours small-batch bourbon, craft cocktails and local microbrews.

The Bourbon & Whiskey Club, curated by O'Hara, gives members access to rare barrel picks and bottles that are hard to find on a regular shelf.

Happy hour runs from 4 to 6 p.m. every day, with signature plates and rotating seasonal cocktails.

Hours, reservations and address

  • Where: 12325 Northlake Blvd., Suite 130, Palm Beach Gardens, at Avenir Town Center.
  • Dinner: Sunday through Thursday, 4 to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 4 to 10 p.m.
  • Happy hour: daily, 4 to 6 p.m.
  • Reservations: through SevenRooms, linked from the restaurant's website. The restaurant asks guests to book ahead during its opening weeks, when seating is limited. Bar seats are first come, first served.

Sources