Tidbits

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The Capitol Chophouse, which opened in 2003 as part of the Hilton-Monona Terrace, is closing on May 2. The restaurant, in the historic building that once housed offices for the Diocese of Madison, will now be called The Liberty Room and used for private events. The hotel’s current Olive Lounge will be renovated to more of a cafe/bistro called The Audrey Kitchen & Bar, serving cocktails and light entrees.

Field Table, 10 W. Mifflin St., has reopened after a remodel. Starting May 3, it will be known as Merci Bar Bistro Lounge. The 3-year-old restaurant has done away with its breakfast pastry counter, coffee area, market shelves and grab-n-go area, extending its bar and focusing on lunch, dinner and late evening. The new menu is French-influenced and will be finalized May 3.

New restaurant space on the ground floor at 25 W. Main St., the former Anchor Bank building, has been vacant since completion of the project about a year ago. But interest in the space is growing, says Urban Land Interests (ULI) developer Mark Binkowski, who currently has four prospective users: “We are finally getting some traction in terms of getting that space filled.”

The tight labor market has made it difficult recently for restaurants says Binkowski, but he feels that after a couple years of over-expansion, the Madison restaurant scene has stabilized and there’s growth again, “which is a good thing for everybody.”

Binkowski notes that ULI can subdivide the space two or three different ways depending on tenant interest. He doesn’t see the Brocach space at 7 W. Main as a problem, even though it is already built out as a restaurant. “That space is challenging because of the amount of square footage on the second floor, which is really hard to monetize. Our space is all ground floor and [street] frontage, and a new building in terms of loading dock and mechanicals, etc. We see our space [as working] for a user who wants to build out a restaurant to suit their needs.”