Updated, with a denial on the bottom…
I've had my ups and downs with Haven Gastropub in Old Towne Orange, but can't deny that the restaurant has been a smash success. How much a smash? Enough so that the people behind it think they can succeed again by opening a second location just three-and-a-half miles away, in downtown SanTana
]
Drive by the corner of Broadway and Third Street in the city, and you'll see a large space with full-length windows covered in paper to discourage lookie-loos. That'll be Haven's new space, although there is no set opening date. Rumor has it that Haven also secured a space just next door, the late, great Broadway Billiards, and are thinking of doing some type of nightclub-esque food concept.
With many of the Mexi businesses in downtown SanTana failing, expect more restaurants to try and swoop in, much to the pleasure of city fathers–and that's all I'll say on that tidbit right now. As a political beast, I'm going to see if the city will subsidize these new, favored restaurants to move in, as they have done in the past. As a food critic, I support good, original food and wonder if Haven can succeed with the same concept so close to the original–if they do indeed try a gastropub (which is so 2008). We shall see…
UPDATED: Read the comment from Haven's owners below. My sources insist, however, that they are bluffing–but if Haven says they're not opening another location, then they will have the final word on this. They do say they're expanding, so let's see what that brings…
