(Edit: The restaurant’s name has been updated from Natalie’s to Hae-Paul’s since the original publishing date of this article.)
After 15 years of serving as Executive Chef at Barcelona, Paul Yow is ready for a change. This seasoned chef is making his departure from the popular German Village restaurant to open a place of his own in Downtown Columbus called Natalie’s.
Located at 79 South Fourth Street, this cozy space was previously home to the short lived Big Bites, which took the spot of Serenity Cafe when it closed after 11 years. Yow cites the restaurant resurgence in Downtown Columbus as providing the stimulus for his new venture.
“We like the feel of Downtown and see the food community growing here as more independent restaurants open,” he said. “There is more housing going up all the time.”
Natalie’s is being described as a casual, inexpensive 40-seat restaurant serving a mix of Korean and American dishes as well as a blending of the two cuisines. Yow will run the restaurant along side his wife Hae Ran, and the duo plan to do most of the cooking themselves.
Meanwhile, Barcelona will be promoting Sous Chef Jacob Hough to Executive Chef, who has been trained extensively under Chef Yow.
“Paul has been instrumental in the quality of food that Barcelona has been known for, said Scott Heimlich, Owner of Barcelona. “His understanding of Spanish cuisine has helped to earn Barcelona a spot amongst the Top 10 Restaurants in Columbus.”
Yow is wasting no time in getting the new concept started and expects Natalie’s to be open sometime next week starting with lunch service from 11am to 4pm, Monday through Friday. He plans to add dinner service, Saturday brunch, and a beer and wine selection in the near future.
More information will be available online soon at www.NataliesDowntown.com.