GREENFIELD – A downtown eatery is maintaining much of its same ownership but reopening with a new name, menu and hours.
Also running the kitchen is a new chef who honed his chops in his home state of Indiana but also fine dining venues in Tahoe, California and Vail, Colorado.
Tim and Denise Hexamer and Will Worley opened Trio at 2 W. Main St. in Greenfield this summer. Changes and challenges prompted the operation to briefly close recently and allow for readjustments before re-branding and reopening. Worley stepped away from the partnership but under good terms. Difficulties mounted toward achieving an effective structure in the kitchen. The restaurant wasn’t pulling in diners like the owners wanted in the evenings.
“So we said we’ll just close the doors, step back, readjust our business plan,” Tim Hexamer said.
The restaurant reopened earlier this month as Vine – A Wine Bistro. The Hexamers have done away with breakfast, brunch, lunch and coffee drinks aside from brewed coffee and now feature solely a dinner menu in the evenings Wednesday through Saturday.
Bryan Wilson is Vine’s chef.
“He’s been all over the country,” Tim Hexamer said. “We’re very fortunate to have him. His food’s just excellent. We’re really excited.”
Wilson grew up on a small farm in Covington, Indiana before moving to Indianapolis to cook at Sullivan’s Steakhouse and The Cheesecake Factory, rising to executive chef at both.
“Then I wanted to get more into fine dining and stuff like that, so I moved out to Tahoe for like five years, then I was out in Vail, Colorado just recently for several years learning from great chefs in those areas,” Wilson said. “So I developed a great skill set throughout my career between the corporate world and the fine dining culinary-driven restaurants. I feel like I have a lot to offer here as far as balance goes and putting out really great quality food.”
Getting engaged and a more affordable cost of living drew Wilson back to Indiana. Then he saw online that the Hexamers were looking for a chef for their new wine bistro.
“I just took a shot in the dark to see what they were doing,” Wilson said. “A lot of my food resembles wine and goes well with wine, so I thought that it would be a great fit. I picked up and just moved here. I live down the road in Knightstown.”
Vine’s menu includes soups, salads, charcuterie and shared plates featuring duck, pork and steak dishes. Among the entrees are sous vide pork steak, New York strip and bison short rib. A variety of specialty wines, beers, cocktails and nonalcoholic beverages make up the drink menu. Like its predecessor, Vine offers an array of bottled wines for purchase as well.
“A lot of our products are locally driven,” Wilson said. “I did want to bring a little bit of my personality into the menu. I spent a lot of time out west too. I grew up in Indiana. My heart kind of plays in both places, so I just wanted to bring something like that to the table.”
He’s looking forward to bringing that to tables in Greenfield.
“I enjoy serving people,” he said. “It’s a hard business. I’ve had a lot of ups and downs. I’ve loved and hated it at the same time, that’s the truth. But I truly do like making people happy. I care about what I do, I care about putting smiles on people’s faces.”
Vine is accepting reservations for Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, which can be made at triogreenfield.com. While the URL is under the old restaurant’s name, the website has been updated with the re-brand.
The restaurant is open 4-9 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays and 4-10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
“I just want people to come try us at least once,” Hexamer said. “We’re a firm believer with our menu and with the chef, if they come once they’ll want to come back.”
