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5| W aterloo C hronicle | T hursday,S eptem ber 20,2018 w aterloochronicle.ca 85 BRIDGEPORT RD. E. WATERLOO (Across from the Bridgeport Rd. Plaza) Since 1971 519-893-8118 MON., TUES., WED. 10 AM - 6 PM THURS., FRI. 10 AM - 8 PM SATURDAY 9 AM - 5 PM SUNDAY 12 PM - 4 PM Design your own sofa, loveseat or sectional available in both fabric & leather Choose from hundreds of Configurations and style options! available in both fabriC & leather Visit our clearance centre and saVe 30-70% on selected items!! Family Owned & Operated with 30 Years Experience. - Hardwood - Engineered Hardwood - Laminate - Porcelain - Carpet - Tile & Stone - Resilient Many brands, styles & colours to choose from! WHEN QUALITY & SERVICE MATTERS CALL FOR A FREE ESTIMATE & VISIT OUR SHOWROOM TODAY! 2-500 Bingemans Centre Dr. (across from Bingemans Park) 519-570-0008 • ooring.com Mon. - Fri. 9:00am - 6:00pm, Sat. 10:00am - 4:00pm, Closed Sunday ooring.comwww ooring.c In as little as a month, there will be a brand new restaurant on King Street in uptown Waterloo. Kentucky Bourbon & Chicken, once it makes it through the site plan ap- proval process at the City of Waterloo, will open at 101 King St. N., the former location of Kentucky Vari- ety and Empress of India. The L-shaped building will be retrofitted to in- clude a combined rooftop and ground-level patio. The property sits between Young Street West and Spring Street West. For Devon McKenzie, the restaurant's owner, it will be the fourth estab- lishment in a two-block radius, with a fifth coming soon. McKenzie currently owns Night School, Stark & Perri and Becky's Apartment. For the new restaurant, McKenzie has put a strong focus on food quality. The menu consists of southern comfort food. To help him with this, McKenzie has brought on executive chef Graeme Parker, who was recently at Loloan Lobby Bar on Princess Street. For Parker, southern food is a passion. "This is what I've al- ways gravitated to," said Parker. "This is feel-good food. It's food that speaks to people." Parker is working on perfecting the fried chick- en to bring it up to a stan- dard where it can be called the best fried chicken in Waterloo Region. It is a task, he admits. "Everybody does it," he said. While McKenzie made the choice to open a coun- try-style restaurant and bar, he wants to make sure that the feel is slightly classier. "It's not going to be in a wooden box," said McKen- zie. "There will be those el- ements. We'll have bour- bon barrels and things like that. But it will be more upscale. It's a clean and modernized version of a country bar." McKenzie said he's most excited about the possibilities of the two- level patio. "There's nothing like that in all of Waterloo," he said. Once the dinner ser- vice is done, the restau- rant will quickly transi- tion from restaurant to bar, likely attracting droves of students. Since Kitchener's Stampede Corral closed down earli- er this year, that leaves Dallas Nightclub as the only country-oriented lo- cation in the area. The drink menu includes 30 different bourbon drinks, infused with different fla- vours. It will also include a fully-stocked bar of oth- er drinks. Since the 6,500 square feet will allow for it, McKenzie said he plans on building a stage big enough to fit a five-piece band. The current plan is to have live music four nights a week, from 7 to 11 p.m., before a DJ takes over for the remainder of the night. Kentucky will be McKenzie's second res- taurant and he has a third, Lotus Lounge Sushi and Spirits, at the former Up- town Woods, will open shortly. Kentucky Bourbon & Chicken is still in the site plan process, but once city approval is granted, McKenzie said he'd be able to get the restaurant and bar done and ready in about a month. BUSINESS 'MODERN' COUNTRY-STYLE RESTAURANT AND BAR, KENTUCKY BOURBON & CHICKEN, TO OPEN IN UPTOWN WATERLOO ADDRESS Kentucky Bourbon & Chicken, 101 King St. N TWITTER @KentuckyWaterloo Kentucky Bourbon & Chicken rendering shows the proposed design for the new restaurant and bar. Supplied/Devon McKenzie ADAM JACKSON ajackson@waterloo chronicle.ca