Solera: Bin 77 owners opening tapas restaurant in former Marcello’s space

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A Spanish restaurant and tapas bar called Solera is moving into the Southdowns Shopping Center space recently vacated by Marcello’s Wine Bar and Cafe.

It’s a new venture by Bin 77 owners Brian and Tiffany Dykes and Kelwin and Linda Clark, who recently signed a lease on the 3,800-square-foot space.

“The goal is not to take away from what we created in Perkins Rowe. [Bin 77] is doing well, and we’ve been there 11 years,” says Brian Dykes. “But we looked around Baton Rouge and there weren’t a whole lot of options for Spanish food. We want to encourage people to eat local.”

Menu items are designed to be shared with groups of people, Dykes says, with tasting menus allowing patrons to order as many small plates, or tapas, as they want for the whole table. The menu also features larger Spanish-inspired entrees such as steaks and lamb chops that are made with locally sourced ingredients.

Dykes says he and his business partners have retained the former Marcello’s executive chef, Kevin Anderson, to serve as Solera’s head chef. Anderson will also collaborate on the restaurant’s menu with Bin 77 chef Danny Santana.

The restaurant—which can fit 120 people—will include a small private dining space called the “Tasting Room,” where up to 14 people can choose from different tasting menus at different price points.

Solera is set to open by the end of June.

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Eta: just noticed the date in that article. Not sure how I missed this until now. SIAP

Eta2: read a more recent article that they had a Solera pop up on June 30 at Bin and plan to open at the end of this month. Still looking for date confirmation...