The third time ArtYard’s Jill Kearney asked Chef Cal Peternell to open a restaurant in French-town’s historic Frenchtown Inn, he said yes.
The first two times, the acclaimed cookbook author and podcast host just wasn’t in the right headspace to accept. In 2019, Peternell had left his more-than-two-decade tenure leading the kitchens at Alice Waters’ iconic Chez Panisse, in Berkeley, CA, to open his own restaurant “in a beautiful old building in Oakland,” Peternell says. He poured his heart, soul, and money into the venture. Then the Covid pandemic hit, and “it just didn’t work out.”
The experience was devastating, but not without its creative upside. During the next few years, Peternell published his fourth cookbook, Burnt Toast and Other Disasters: A Book of Heroic Hacks, Fabulous Fixes, and Secret Sauces (William Morrow & Co., 2021). He launched a podcast, Cooking by Ear, where he chatted with stars like Frances McDormand and Tommy Pico while they made risotto and frittatas from their home kitchens. And Peternell began writing a novel, still in progress, which he calls a “queer culinary melodrama.”
Peternell grew up in Whitehouse Station, in New Jersey’s Hunterdon County—about a half-hour drive from Frenchtown. Although his childhood home wasn’t a foodie nerve center, his mom showed him, by example, “if you’re around the table together, eating, there’s no better way to build relationships and community,” he says.
It was a lesson clearly learned. Sitting recently for a conversation at a table in the sun-filled bar of his new restaurant, FiNNBAR, the chef is warm, relaxed, and quick to laugh as he recounts highlights of the path that brought him here.
Peternell studied painting at New York’s School of Visual Arts. When he and his wife, the artist Kathleen Henderson, were young newlyweds, they had the opportunity to move to Lucca, in Tuscany, to take care of a friend’s horses and to paint. “We didn’t have a lot of money, but we started to notice how food fit into the culture, how humans there ate food and were enthusiastic about it.” The culinary spark was lit.
Working in restaurants became a way for Peternell to support himself and his growing family—the couple now has three grown sons—as they moved first to Boston and then to the San Francisco Bay Area. Peternell started as a line cook; his first sous chef job was at Biba, Lydia Shire’s award-winning restaurant in Boston. He fell in love with food and the promise of seasonal ingredients along the way. When Alice Waters said he could take off time for the birth of his second son—nearly unheard of in the restaurant industry—he accepted the job offer at Chez Panisse.
Waters influenced Peternell deeply. She taught him the importance of “really building community through relationships with local farmers, cheesemakers, and ranchers.” She also showed him how to foster an environment of mutual respect and admiration, in stark contrast to the infamous toxicity of many restaurant kitchens. Cooks at Chez Panisse worked relatively sane hours—and spoke to each other with calm consideration. “It’s very important to me to create a place that is open, accepting, and kind,” Peternell explains.
PETERNELL SET ABOUT FORGING RELATIONSHIPS WITH LOCAL FARMERS AND MAKERS AS SOON AS HE TOOK ON THE PROJECT.
“WE WANTED IT TO BE BEAUTIFUL BUT CASUAL—RESPECTFUL OF THE HISTORY BUT NOT TOO ‘YE OLDE COLONIAL,’” PETERNELL EXPLAINS OF THE BUILDING.
That’s the culture Peternell set out to create at FiNNBAR. The third-time’s-the-charm yes from the chef came because Kearney, the founder of ArtYard, a contemporary art center, residency, and theater in Frenchtown, offered to take on the aspects of the restaurant he couldn’t or didn’t want to tackle—including the business plan and the marketing.
Kearney was already part of Peternell’s proverbial family. Peternell and Henderson had moved back east for Henderson to found and open Studio Route 29, a progressive art studio that centers the creative practices of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, in Frenchtown with Kearney. Henderson serves as its executive director.
Kearney’s plan was that 70% of FiNNBAR’s profits would go directly to Studio Route 29, and she and Peternell would be co-owners. William Welch, who had played a big part in designing ArtYard, envisioned the space. They took inspiration from Napoleon House in New Orleans, another historical building with a sleek contemporary feel.
“We wanted it to be beautiful but casual—respectful of the history but not too ‘ye olde colonial,’” Peternell explains of the building, which has been a hospitality landmark in Frenchtown since 1838. In its new iteration, there are dark floors, comfy banquettes, and “a neutral color palette to let the art pop off the walls.” That artwork, hailing from Studio Route 29, was for sale on opening night in February and has been selling briskly ever since.
The Studio Route 29-aligned mission is part of an even bigger vision for FiNNBAR: to be a small-town hub where “we are genuinely collaborative with each other and the town, our farms, and our community,” Peternell reflects.
As one of two restaurants in town with a liquor license (the other is The National), it’s a boon just to have a lively place to gather. It feels like a bonus that the cocktails, designed by general manager, bar manager and local artist Ethan Stuart, are thoughtful, delicious, and affordable, most priced at $12. There’s a wine list of exceedingly drinkable natural wines, and oftentimes a two-deep wait at the bar when it opens at 4pm.
Peternell set about forging relationships with local farmers and makers as soon as he took on the project. He sources produce from Roots to River Farm in New Hope, PA, cider from Iron-bound Cider in Asbury, and lamb from Mt. Salem Farm in Pittstown.
FiNNBAR opened last winter with a short, constantly changing menu, which skewed veggie-heavy. Come spring, new additions included a crunchy salad of three kinds of radishes, Pink Lady apples and a schmear of hummus with sesame seeds and cilantro. Snappy Belgian endive was fried into tempura-like ribbons. Torchio pasta tasted bright with peppery arugula pesto, Full Belly Farm (VT) sun-dried tomatoes and fresh Jersey artisanal ricotta. When whipped, that ricotta adds a smooth, milky element to Peternell’s Sungold Tomato and Melon Salad (see recipe) that’s sure to be a summer favorite. Like FiNNBAR itself, it’s a fresh take on a tried-and-true favorite.
FiNNBAR
7 Bridge St., Frenchtown
908.465.0021
finnbarjersey.com
Peternell (r.) with general manager/bar manager Ethan Stuart
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