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Jayne Jenkins and Emma Machen light up when they start talking about their newest adventure.
And who can blame them.
The Ruston duo – with lots of support from their husbands – have opened Board & Bottle located in the former Railway Coffee location in downtown Ruston.
Coffee shop by day. Charcuterie by night.
“I like to think of it as a café wine bar,” said Jenkins.
Whatever you want to call it, it should be a unique dining establishment for patrons.
Jayne and Emma recently took over the space from former Railway Coffee owner John Luke Robertson, and after some recently completed renovations within the building, they re-opened it Thursday under the new name of Board & Bottle.
“My original business plan for Board & Bottle was to share space with Railway in the evening, so it was an easy step for me to take with help from Emma who has more restaurant management experience, and turn it in to a full café and wine bar concept ” said Jayne. “We will be known as Board & Bottle, but it will still very much be a coffee shop during the day. We are revitalizing everything that was so good about Railway Coffee, which people know and love.”
Current hours for the shop are Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“Railway has been a staple of downtown Ruston,” said Emma. “We are keeping the same staff. The changes won’t be so drastic that the loyal Railway customers won’t feel comfortable coming back. We are still offering Railway-brand coffee. The taste is not going to change. It’s going to be the coffee they know and love.”
In addition to bringing back pastries and other new breakfast offerings in the morning, Board & Bottle will start serving light lunches as well, hopefully within the next three to four weeks.
“Fresher, healthier, yet different,” said Emma describing the lunch menu which is still being finalized. “Different flavors. Different ingredients than what you would typically find. We want people to come here and enjoy food that isn’t found elsewhere in Ruston.”
So, stay tuned for the Board & Bottle lunch menu coming soon.
Once the liquor license is finalized, the coffee shop by day will turn into a charcuterie and wine bar by night. It’s something that makes Jayne’s face light up when discussing.
“Everything I am doing is out of passion,” said Jayne. “I love cooking. I love creating things with food.”
The charcuterie boards will feature a collection of specially sourced meats and cheeses, olives, pickles, and the menu will extend to offer sharing style items such as flatbreads. As well as fine wines.
“We will feature finer gourmet ingredients, international foods and flavors,” said Jayne. “It’s not your typical appetizer, entrée, dessert type of restaurant.”
“There will be a selection of unique wines that you cannot get at the grocery store or other restaurants,” said Emma. “We would love to offer wine flights. That is something we haven’t seen around our area, and it would be nice to be able to offer that to our customers.”
Although it is in its infant stages of having the doors opened under the new name, Board & Bottle has been serving patrons since the fall, participating in the Wine Walk last October as well as the Beer Crawl and Peach Festival. They have also hosted some private parties, such as graduations and birthday parties. They even hosted a reception for gubernatorial candidate Hunter Lundy.
And soon the multi-versatile establishment will be open from morning through night.
