by TM Petaccia

On the heels of celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary, Andy and Lesa Kastanas are getting ready for another celebration: the long awaited reopening of Soul Gastrolounge. The popular Plaza Midwood spot closed abruptly in August 2022 after a 15-year run due to a sudden rent increase. The new, much larger, 6400 square-foot space is located in The Pass multi-use development, directly next to the Sugar Creek stop on the CATS light rail system.

“We’ll definitely be open by the end of August,” Andy Kastanas says. “We’re not going to change much, really. We’ll have a DJ here every night of the week. We’ll be serving food until 11 p.m. weekdays, midnight on weekends. We’ll still have that last night vibe.” Plans also including bringing back weekend brunch service at some point.

Many of the most popular restaurant dishes will be returning, such as the former location’s signature pork belly and watermelon tacos and anchovy fries. Running the kitchen will be chef de cuisine Richelle Espinosa-Brewer, a.k.a. “Chef Shiki”, who worked at the former location’s downstairs concept, Kiki and also spent time running the kitchen at The Crunkleton.

“We are definitely bringing back most of the favorites,” Espinosa-Brewer says. “We’ll also be adding some things like an artichoke and sun-dried tomato salad, a lamb burger, some new dips, and other surprises.” She is currently talking with several local farms for sourcing many of the restaurant’s dishes, including several local meat producers.

“We’ve known Shiki for a really long time,” Andy Kastanas says. “She understands what we’re doing, she knows our menu, understands our style. She was the logical choice, really. We trust her to execute our ideas and infuse them with her own.”

Heading the bar program is Steven Laws, most recently bar director at Uptown’s The Cotton Room, and previously named as one of the country’s top 50 bartenders by Diageo.

“I’m excited to be part of the revival of this concept and help usher it into a new era,” Laws says. “We will be honoring what made the original Soul so unforgettable to so many. I’ve always been drawn to abstract cocktail design and crafting stories in a glass through modern techniques. I’m honored to bring that creative spirit to Soul.”

“I just loved him as soon as I met him,” Andy Kastanas says. “He is so motivated and creative. He’s got a lot of great ideas and excited to get started.”

Once Soul opens, the Kastanases will be readying a new space adjacent to it, a smaller, late night “listening lounge” incorporating vintage high-end audio equipment. “Much of it is from the 70’s,” Andy Kastanas says, “Turntables, records, all analog hi-fi, from my personal collection of vintage audio equipment. It will be open later, plus we’ll have some special music events, bring in guest DJs, stuff like that.”

Both Andy and Lesa Kastanas stress that they are focused on recreating the same beloved vibe as the original Plaza Midwood space. “It’s still the soul of Soul,” Lesa Kastanas says. “Even though it’s a much bigger space. There was this sense of we had to make it bigger. In this climate, it’s what it takes to make money in this business. We had to be bigger.

“Don’t let the square footage fool you. We’re still keeping this as intimate and cozy and Soul-like as we can.”