Roux opened officially this past weekend, and you’d think that the big, beautiful, New-Orleans inspired restaurant would be enough of a project for one person. But no, one restaurant isn’t enough for Dustin Staggers: by the last week of October or the first in November, he plans to open Rumplings, a small ramen and dumplings shop, in the space at 2009 Highland Avenue that until recently housed Baby D’s Bagels and Deli.
Dustin and Kyle Staggers and Griffin Paulin plan to keep Rumplings open until 5 a.m. (possible hours: Wednesday – Friday 5 p.m. – 5 a.m.) to offer the bar crowds something (besides pizza) to eat. “We want to fill the void of (a) late night food and (b) the fact we don’t have any noodle shops in town,” says Dustin Staggers.
There will be a few standard classics and build-your-own options on the menu, with the same proteins available for both the ramen bowls and dumpling fillings: beef, tofu, chicken and pork belly. “We wanted to keep the menu and the kitchen staff small. Roux will act as a commissary kitchen for Rumplings. We already make so much dough and stock over there,” explains Staggers. Price point will be $7 - $14, depending on what’s in your bowl. Ramen dough and dumpling dough will be made by hand. They’re currently seeking a beer and wine license so sake can be served.
Staggers and Griffin Paulin will be Executive Chefs at Rumplings, and continue in their current roles at Roux. “Rumplings will be a little more gimmick-y than Roux. We want to open up restaurants in other places in the Midwest…in like non-major metropolises. The Cincinattis, the Daytons. We think some of our concepts can work there. Roux is a major project, this is much easier. There’s going to be a bar with stools, and this giant window we’re going to build a shelf for. It’s quick.”
Few will remember Ed Lee’s dumplings shop, in the formerly “cursed” Baxter Avenue location that now hold the wildly successful El Taco Luchador. On opening a dumpling and ramen shop within walking distance of that location, Staggers says simply “I think the city is ready for it now.”
Photos courtesy of shutterstock, Baby D's, and Roux Louisville
