NORWALK, CT — When opening her new restaurant in the Wall Street area of Norwalk, Greer Fredericks wanted to create a space where customers could feel at home.
A place where customers could pull up a chair, take a seat at the kitchen table and enjoy southern cuisine made with love and fresh ingredients.
Greer Southern Table, located at 7 River Street in the space that once housed My Three Sons, officially opened its doors to customers June 21 after a 10-day soft opening.
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The opening marks a homecoming for Fredericks, who previously owned Peaches Southern Pub and Juke Joint on Wall Street. The restaurant closed its doors in early 2020, just before the outbreak of the coronavirus crisis in the area.
“I wanted [Greer Southern Table] to be almost like a new beginning,” Fredericks said. “Like we’re on the other side of COVID-19 and the last few crazy years, and I just wanted things to be a little bit more clean and simple…just have a lot of organic things involved.”
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The restaurant held a ribbon cutting event to mark the official opening, guests for which included Mayor Harry Rilling and a number of residents and business owners from the Wall Street area.
In a statement sent to Patch, Rilling said he was thrilled that Fredericks decided to open her newest restaurant in the area, having already made a remarkable impact on the Norwalk community through her well-known restaurants Mama’s Boy Southern Table and Peaches.
“Greer and others know that the city has prioritized the revitalization of our Wall Street corridor,” Rilling said, “and that these revitalization efforts will provide the infrastructure necessary to increase foot traffic in the area, which will help bring in new businesses and support existing ones like Greer Southern Table, generating critical economic growth for the business community.”
He also noted the enthusiastic response the restaurant and its menu have already received from residents.
“I encourage the community to go check it out and have a fun evening out in the Wall Street corridor,” Rilling said.
While construction of the space took about five months to complete, Fredericks and her team were able to build from the ground up and ensure they were able to do everything they wanted, which included “leveling up” the space with a large bar area and private dining room.
“It’s beautiful, it’s comfortable,” Fredericks said. “I love this space. I love this block and the fact that it feels like the [Yankee Doodle] parking garage is all for me, four levels of it just for us, so I won’t ever have to worry or stress about parking, let alone it being expensive parking. It’s not going to be break the bank.”
Fredericks is also happy to return to the Wall Street area of Norwalk, which she finds has an artsy vibe that perfectly fits her personality and restaurant.
“I love this neighborhood,” Fredericks said. “I’m kind of like an artsy person myself, so this is a very artsy, eclectic neighborhood. We’re really happy.”
Customers who loved Peaches can find a number of their most popular items on the menu at Greer Southern Table, including shrimp and grits and a bucket of fried chicken.
“All of our big sellers were definitely always going to be coming back,” Fredericks said. “We also wanted to add some new items, and we’re really not just nodding our head toward low country, but we’re nodding toward high country too.”
Some notable new items that customers are already responding to include the whole roasted trout, the yaka mein Creole noodle soup and the pan-seared herb crusted salmon.
According to Kendall DeVos, Greer’s director of private dining and catering, the menu places a real emphasis on authenticity and quality, led by the previous kitchen staff from Peaches.
“I see the [crispy pork] wontons being made every day in the kitchen by hand,” DeVos said, “I see the dough for the [roasted chicken] empanadas being rolled out every day by hand. I haven’t seen anything that wasn’t handmade in here.”
The bar also features a signature bourbon sweet tea cocktail, as well as inventive combinations like a cucumber jalapeño margarita and the Huck’s Tennessee Lemonade made with huckleberry vodka, fresh squeezed lemon, blueberries, club soda and mint.
“I think our bartenders are extremely talented,” DeVos said. “They really know exactly what they’re doing.”
As she continues to welcome guests both new and returning to her kitchen table, Fredericks noted she could already feel Greer Southern Table being embraced by customers as if it were their own home.
“It’s clear to us that people are happy we’re back,” Fredericks said.
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