By Jay Socol, Public Communications Director
After 10 years of owning and operating The Republic Steakhouse in College Station, executive chef Wade Barkman is finally building his own restaurants – an updated Republic, plus a brand-new concept that shares a common slab – from the ground up.
In this podcast, Wade talks about life leading up to this point, and what people can expect with these new properties.
Total run time: 32:03
- 00:00 - Show open.
- 01:00 - PART ONE: Wade starts from the beginning, including how he found Texas A&M, moved on to culinary school, then California, Vegas (thank you, Aggie Network) and finally back to CS in 2006.
- 08:20 - Wade finds his restaurant location -- home to three or four previous ones. (Can you name them?)
- 11:42 - The highs and lows of Chimney Hill: Why did Wade stay?
- 14:30 - How he found a concept -- The Republic -- that the town needed, even if he wasn't a steakhouse guy.
- 17:48 - Why dozens of restaurants have come and gone in 10 years, but The Republic has survived. "I would not wish this business on anyone."
- 19:47 - PART TWO: The Republic is being recreated + Primrose Path, a "gastro-pub wine bar."
- 21:13 - The differences between the old Republic and the new one.
- 24:14 - What is Primrose Path going to be?
- 26:58 - Will you miss the old building, or take anything with you to the new place?
- 28:07 - How was your development experience with the city of College Station?
- 30:11 - Sometime in fall 2018: Republic will open, with Primrose Path doing so about a month later.
- 30:49 - What's your guilty pleasure in terms of food?
- 31:49 - Show close.
Transcript:
Jay Socol (@jaysocol) is in his ninth year as College Station’s public communications director. A 1991 graduate of Texas A&M. Jay has also been communications director for the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service, public information officer for the City of Bryan, and news director at several Bryan-College Station area radio stations. A native of Breckenridge, he also serves as president of the Texas Association of Municipal Information Officers.
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