Blue Cat Bistro

About Us

The Blue Cat is a relatively new restaurant to the area. We built it as a formal alternative to The Pizza Place and Birdseye Diner. While initial plans were to modify the deli’s dining room it soon became clear that our pizza business was meeting the needs of the college and families which wanted the self serve dining experience. The Blue Cat was going to need a space of its own and so after a lot of measuring and planning we decided to renovate the deli’s storage garage. The Blue Cat project began in the fall of 2006.

The primary objective of the Blue Cat is Great food at a Good price in a unique Atmosphere. We wanted a place where folks could watch the game and get a draft beer. But we also needed a place that could handle a 2-20 person party. The biggest problem we faced was getting so much into such a limited space. We not only had to divide the building but also the kitchen. A particularly difficult area was creating storage, a vital component to a successful restaurant. Fortunately, through building a second floor in our kitchen we were able to move product upstairs negating the need for store rooms and allowing us to double the area utilizable for dining. With some creative seating arrangement we are able pull tables together to accommodate large parties. We broke the dining room into a two sections setting up a small bar room for the casual diner but not being so removed as to lose the unified feel.

The interior design focuses on creating a relaxing natural space that is a step up from most restaurants yet not so formal as to alienate folks with “stuffiness.” Our dining room floor is oak from local trees. We used a soapstone bar top from RMG a local stone yard. The ceiling is lit with hundreds of fiber optics with each star individually drilled and wired. The bar has an old established feel. The seating is banquet style which is comprised of a big bench that runs the perimeter of the room enabling big party seating yet also works with deuces. For cocktail parties we remove the tables which frees up a decent space for mixing and dancing. Overall the dining room has proven quite versatile despite its small size.

The Blue Cat menu is based around Italian fare. Italian food is a great value and has virtually unlimited possibility for combination. We looked at a lot of restaurant menus and piles of cookbooks to bring together something really unique. We want our menu to offer something that is interesting, diverse and classically Italian. We use top notch pastas, oils and seasonings as they are the foundation of a great meal. We think our food is pretty tasty and you are probably going to have some extras for a late night take-out snack.

The Blue Cat Bistro experience has begun. Things have gone well and the restaurant has become a popular place. We have all sorts of inquiries about renting the place for a wedding party or Christmas get together. While in the past we have focused on keeping the place open to everyone, we are working on packages enabling folks to have the private party. We have added a form to this site as a sort of preliminary planning tool and we’d love to sit down and discuss plans for a big event. The Blue Cat is a love. It’s the busy nights with the chatter and laughter and clinking of silverware and smells of food under the starlit sky and we start to think “Man, I love it here!”


Copyright © 2009 Blue Cat Bistro