This post is written by guest blogger, Kynli Smith, Intern at Old Town Cape.
Q: Who are you and when did you open the business?
A: My name is Kevin Priester and I opened
West Bank Bistro in December 2012. We chose to open then to allow us enough time to work out the kinks before the Southeast Missouri State University students came back for the semester and business picked up.
Q: What makes your business unique?
A: Our venue sets us apart because it is a house that has been transformed into a unique dining experience and that gives West Bank Bistro a "home" feeling. The historic Huhn-Harrison House was built in 1905. It needed a lot of work in the beginning and we basically had to take it apart and put it back togethera again. But, we tried to recreate the original layout as close as possible.
Another unique charactertistic about West Bank Bistro is the variety of food and drinks options that we offer to our customers. My personal favorites are the iced coffee and Sweet & Smokey Turkey sandwich with a side of White Bean Ragoo Soup. But really any of our menu items are winners.
Q: Why did you choose to locate your business in downtown Cape?
A: I like historic buildings and I like coffee shops. I thought that a combination of the two would be a wonderful thing to bring to downtown Cape. The Southeast Missouri State University River Campus also played a big role in my decision to open the business where I did. I thought that it would be a great opportunity to appeal to the students and faculty that frequent the River Campus. Since opening, we have started displaying work from students in the business and became an acoustic venue for people to enjoy on First Friday and various nights throughout the month. There are so many talented people in this community and West Bank Bistro wants to be a place that they can use to hone in on their skills.