Tavern Hall Is the Restaurant Equivalent of a Supergroup

The Bellevue Square space previously home to Munchbar is getting a striking makeover. One that involves original lanterns from Coney Island, church windows from Portland, an enormous clock from Buenos Aires and—nbd—a piece of facade from a former psychiatric hospital in New York.

That list should be your first clue that the partners behind forthcoming Tavern Hall include James Weimann and Deming Maclise. The duo, whose realm includes Bastille, Poquitos, Von Trapp’s, Stoneburner, and Macleod’s are working with Marc and Bret Chatalas, owners of the five Cactus outposts around town, to open this massive 320-seat bar by the sky bridge connecting Lincoln Square and Bellevue Square.

The Chatalas brothers signed a lease for the space, which is right next to the newest Cactus location, and lost their architect shortly thereafter. That little wrinkle resulted in Weimann and Maclise stepping in as partners, bringing their knack for sourcing cool, old things and repurposing them with dramatic results.

Lavish decor aside, Tavern Hall will be casual place, with 20 beers on tap and full cocktail program. Cactus culinary director Brent Novotny is working on a taverny menu of wings, soft pretzels, and flatbreads. Marc Chatalas says this project originated with a desire to do a really good burger, and Tavern Hall’s will be made with a custom grind of beef.

There will be TVs aplenty (though knowing Weimann and Maclise, probably artfully configured) and the 9,500-square-foot space will have five shuffleboard tables, darts, foosball, and three private dining spaces. Von Trapp’s, by way of comparison, is 10,000 square feet.

Tavern Hall is aiming for a summer open.