With Concorde, a new European-inspired restaurant in Madisonville, chef/restaurateur Kevin Armon is finally living out his dream of opening a restaurant inspired by his travels.
Armon, who has spent 35 years cooking professionally, has lived in Paris, New York City, Philadelphia, Connecticut, Washington D.C. and more. But only now is he fusing all of his travels with all of his culinary expertise.
“When I lived in Paris, I always envisioned myself running a little French restaurant. But as much as I am a Francophile, when I was putting together the menu, I realized I can’t just limit myself to French cuisine. I’ve been lucky enough to do a lot of traveling. I love Italian food. I love the way they dine in Spain. I had to incorporate everything I love. So that’s why the restaurant is ‘European-inspired,'” Armon said.
One look at the menu makes that clear, where you can find everything from mussels to escargot to Scottish salmon to coq au vin. You’ll even see tinned fish and Rockefeller oysters on the list, thanks to Armon’s time spent on Brigantine Island while he was in school: “since then, oysters are one of my favorite foods. If they’re on the menu, I order it.” Everything about Concorde is a labor of love from the chef — even the location at 4925 Whetsel Ave., which is right down the street from where he currently lives.
“When I moved here in 1997, I absolutely fell in love with Cincinnati and knew it would be my home. Then I moved to Madisonville 20 years ago, and I think it’s the best area in the city with all the ameliorations that have occurred here,” he said. “About two years ago, I was driving home and noticed a building in Madisonville with a ‘for lease’ sign in the window. And I kept driving by, looking at it and thinking ‘Wow.’ Eventually, I said, ‘You know what? Why don’t I pull the trigger?'”
Now that the restaurant is finally opening, Armon is “scared to death” seeing the last two years of effort he’s put into constructing the restaurant in partnership with the Ackermann Group finally come to fruition. But judging by Concorde’s soft opening last Saturday, which CityBeat attended, he doesn’t have much to worry about. The bar was swarmed for hours as attendees tried all sorts of cocktails — this writer had a particularly great boulevardier— and guests were surprisingly receptive to even the restaurant’s weirder dishes.
“I wasn’t expecting people to house down those tinned fishes. I put out some octopus a la gallega and razor clams in olive oil. Everyone devoured them. Seriously, they ate them up so fast. I had to take the signs down and go in the back and just start opening up whatever to keep people fed,” Armon said.
Having been at the opening, he’s correct; initially, I opted to try the smoked trout and Rockefeller oysters first — both of which I enjoyed — then come back for the octopus. Attendees of the soft opening may have spotted a very sad CityBeat writer staring at an empty plate at the end of the table.
Guests at the soft opening were also presented with a frankly ginormous board of various meats and cheeses, featuring everything from mortadella and finocchiona from Italy to beemster gouda from the Netherlands. The restaurant’s gargantuan charcuterie program arose from Armon’s distaste for the lack of choice at other, similar restaurants.
“I love cheese and I love salumi, but unfortunately, when I eat it, I’m always eating it at home. And that’s because when you go to a restaurant these days, it’ll just say ‘charcuterie board.’ It’s a small chef’s selection, and that’s it,” he said. “The focus on our charcuterie boards is that you get to pick what you want. You can have two, four, six pieces. You get to choose what to order instead of simply being served. It’s an amenity I really like having for guests.”
In the future, Armon plans to expand the restaurant’s hours; opening on Mondays is the goal, and opening for lunch isn’t outside the realm of possibility, either. But his main focus with Concorde is sharing the cuisine he loves.
“I’m not an auspicious person. I’m not in this to make money. I’m here to create a business for the Madisonville community with incredible hospitality and incredible food,” he said. “I want us to become a destination place … It’s very exciting that we’re seeing chefs get recognition for James Beard awards, and the Michelin guide is coming now, too. I think this is just the tip of the iceberg for Cincinnati.”
