Stanford’s hopes to attract families

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Amanda Boucher-Fegley, general manager of Stanford’s, in the restaurant’s newly renovated dining room. (Photo by Christian Sorrell)
Amanda Boucher-Fegley, general manager of Stanford’s, in the restaurant’s newly renovated dining room. (Photo by Christian Sorrell)

Last month, Kincaid’s in Clay Terrace closed its doors and re-opened on April 15 as Stanford’s, an American neighborhood restaurant and bar.

Restaurants Unlimited, Inc., the company that owns both Kincaid’s and Stanford’s, decided to re-brand the location after looking at the position Kincaid’s had developed in Carmel during the past several years.

“We looked over the years at Kincaid’s, and it was becoming a special occasion restaurant. It wasn’t family-friendly particularly. It was pretty expensive. I think when (RUI) looked at Carmel, they saw that there are lots of families. We looked at our concepts and Stanford’s seemed to be the best fit for this location,” said Amanda Boucher-Fegley, Stanford’s general manager.

The restaurant’s transformation included new upholstery, new art, new wall finishings and, of course, a new menu.

“It’s classic American. It’s family-friendly, but it’s also really great quality ingredients. You can come here and get a steak, but you can also come here and get a dinner. You can still come for a special occasion, but you can also come here with your entire family,” Boucher-Fegley said.

In the weeks since she opened the new restaurant, Boucher-Fegley has found that it has retained many of Kincaid’s regulars while also attracting new guests who had previously passed the restaurant by.

Boucher-Fegley was the head chef of Palomino in Indianapolis for 16 years and decided to make the jump from the kitchen to the front of the house with the opening of Stanford’s.

“I love being a chef, and I’m passionate about food, but I thought that at this point in my life, it might be really fun to open a restaurant and see it from the very beginning,” Boucher-Fegley said. “I was really excited, and I am all about a challenge.”

RUI approached Boucher-Fegley about the general manager position after the decision was made to re-launch the restaurant as Stanford’s.

“I think that with the way the restaurant business has evolved over the years, general managers are much more involved in food, and they need to be, because you need to be the expert on the food,” Boucher-Fegley said. “With the Palomino, we had really great food and service, and I think that’s something that I can bring to the table here (at Stanford’s) as well.”

For the menu and more information on Stanford’s, visit www.stanfords.com.

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