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    Bakersfield Restaurant Expanding from Over-the-Rhine to the Short North

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    When Joe and John Lanni opened the first Bakersfield Restaurant in Cincinnati in Over-the-Rhine, it was with the intention of being a completely unique concept that featured cuisine prepared for and named after the “Bakersfield Sound”: firmly country with a rock n’ roll influence. Buck Owens and Johnny Cash, among others, defined this type of music, and their legacy and lifestyle inspired the eatery known for tacos, tequila, and bourbon.

    In early fall of this year, the Lanni brothers will open only their third installation of the restaurant in the Short North at 731 North High Street, the former site of China Bar Restaurant. The 3,500 square-feet space will seat about 90-100 guests, and include a sidewalk patio for Short North gazing and more.

    “The Short North was one of our first choices for this,” Joe Lanni discloses. “We wanted a neighborhood with a strong identity and diverse population, because that’s the kind of crowd we resonate with. We have only two other Bakersfields in Cincinnati and Indianapolis, and the Short North has a similar feel.”

    If you’re familiar with the layout of what has also been Black Olive in the past, then you know that the bar currently separates the space’s two large dining rooms. Bakersfield will be joining those rooms together and enlarging the bar to create an awesome and eclectic atmosphere.

    Bakersfield’s menu is a fairly succinct offering of a couple salads, tortas, and roughly eight different tacos including a Short Rib with pickled onions, a Fish with a tabasco lime sauce, and the vegetarian Rajas with poblano and chihuahua cheese. They also carry a hillbilly-friendly selection of beers, and margaritas are available by both the jar and pitcher.

    More importantly however, the menus are Short North-friendly, which means that if you want to spend less than $10 for a complete meal, you can, and if you want to sip on $60 pours of chilled tequila, you’re also right at home to do so.

    “We want to be able to tailor the customer’s experience to whatever they want it to be,” shares Lanni. “We’re just so jazzed to find a good location, with good neighbors, we’re really lucky, and we’re looking forward to building something special.”

    For more as Bakersfield’s opening day approaches, visit www.bakersfieldotr.com.

    For more information on Joe and John Lanni’s Currito restaurant concept that is also expanding to Columbus, CLICK HERE.

    Photo via Bakersfield.

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    Ayana Wilson
    Ayana Wilsonhttps://columbusunderground.com
    Ayana Wilson is a former staff writer at Columbus Underground who covered local restaurant industry news.
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