With 10 years of restaurant owning under his belt, Philly Bar and Grill owner Rocky Patel decided to share his love for southern barbeque with his new location, the Bull and Barrel.
The Bull and Barrel had its grand opening on Thursday, Nov. 13, from 4 to 6 p.m., although it has been open for a month already. Colonie Chamber of Commerce officials and town supervisor Paula Mahan attended the event, and they congratulated Patel on his successful first month.
When the opening began at 4 p.m., already a dozen customers sat at the bar. Throughout the night, more poured in to enjoy the southern comfort food and country music.
“I’ve been in the restaurant business for 27 years,” said Patel. “I remember cooking with the family. We had a family business, so I continued that. I started this because I love barbeque, and I just wanted to get my shot at it.”
The location of his new restaurant sits at 155 Wade Road in Latham. According to Patel, almost everyone he spoke to said the location would not work for a restaurant, let alone one the specializes in southern barbecue, but that only drove Patel to make sure his second restaurant was a huge success.
“I wanted the challenge. Most everyone said where the location sits, it won’t work,” he said.
The Philly Bar and Grill, at 622 Watervliet-Shaker Road, opened in the early 2000s when Patel — a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America — was only in his 30s. The Philly serves primarily bar food, like burgers and sandwiches. Customers of Patel’s can expect to see a whole different menu at the Bull and Barrel, though.
At the restaurant’s grand opening, customers were treated to a preview of the menu with mild smoked wings, deviled eggs with different cheese, and pork sliders with honey apple coleslaw. Patel even broke out an item that is not on the new menu for the occasion: pork-belly bites with a chipotle raspberry glaze.
“It’s all made in-house. Everything here comes from our smokers. Everything is smoked for up to 12 hours,” said Patel’s marketing director, Jessica Baxter. “It’s all comfort food that makes you feel warm. I always tell people this isn’t someplace to go on a first date.”
The building used to be a beer and wine bar, Baxter said. Patel began working on the new location about one year ago, starting on renovations to give the restaurant an authentic southern atmosphere. Although the Bull and Barrel is smaller than the Philly, the restaurant is no less family-friendly.
“It was a great opportunity. He had been looking to open a second location and he wanted to keep it close to Philly so he could keep up with both locations,” Baxter said.
While Patel was told the location of the Bull and Barrel was not the best, some of the customers would disagree, like Zak Steigerwald, who works across from the new restaurant.
“It’s great,” he said. “A month ago, I started smelling all these great barbeque smells. I saw something about this place online, and had to check it out. There’s a really different atmosphere here, but it seems really great.”
