Allison Arevalo—Who Sold Pasta from Her Park Slope Stoop During the Pandemic—is Opening Her Third Location in the Pasta Louise Family
The restaurateur gives us an exclusive peek inside Bar Louise! Plus, she reveals her favorite Park Slope takeout, a fun game lab for kids, and more.
Hi, I’m Kelley MacDonald, and each week, I interview a fun Park Sloper about their life and their favorite things to see, eat, and do around the neighborhood. If you'd like to read these interviews, please upgrade to paid. If you stick with a free subscription, you'll get my monthly emails, plus occasional free emails. Thank you so much for being here!
Hi! How are you doing? Earlier in the week, Allison Arevalo invited me to check out the newest addition to the Pasta Louise family — Bar Louise, which is opening in a couple weeks! Today, I’m thrilled to feature Allison and share a few sneak peek photos from my visit to the new bar.
In 2019, Allison and her family moved from California to Brooklyn to be closer to family. “We knew we wanted to be in Brooklyn, and I found the spot for the cafe, and it evolved from there,” says Allison, chef, author, and founder of Pasta Louise. “My life is basically all in Park Slope. My business is right here; I live here. My boys can walk around the neighborhood pretty much on their own, and I know they're going to be safe. It feels like a small town.”
Allison shares how she found the new location for Bar Louise largely by chance, and how much of her life and work revolve around showing love for people through food. She also recommends a cute gift shop, kids’ art classes, and a turkey trot in Prospect Park.
Kelley MacDonald: Hi Allison! You’re very busy running the restaurant and cafe while opening your new bar right now, so thank you for taking the time to chat! Speaking of the new bar, what made you want to open a third(!) location to the Pasta Louise family?
Allison Arevalo: It was definitely one of those spur-of-the-moment decisions — this was not part of my vision or my goals [laughs]. I was walking with a friend in Park Slope, and we could not find a place to have a cocktail. We walked by the sign at the old Parish spot, and I was like, You know what, let me give this person a call. My business partner, Dan Romero, was on vacation, and when he got back, I was like, Hey, so we're opening a cocktail bar. He was like, Alright, let’s go! [laughs] It's been a little stressful trying to run the restaurant while opening the bar but also very exciting.
What’s the vibe going to be in the new bar?
We were going to keep it really simple and not do huge renovations like our other locations, but of course, that ended up not being the case. The more involved we got, the more we wanted to make it very special.
We want it to feel like if Louise, my grandmother, walked into a bar in the 1940s. So, very Art Deco; lots of blacks and pinks and golds. Our floral installation, which is going to be somewhat like the one at the restaurant but with all kinds of different flowers and deeper, darker reds, is going to be by Alchemy of Spaces, and flowers and vines will hang down from the ceiling.
What about the food and drink menus?
We're going to have incredible cocktails that are named after influential New York City women in the food industry. And really good wines, all of which are going to be organic and biodynamic, from Italy, all around Europe, and a couple of great ones from California. We're going to do Wine Wednesdays at the bar too, since it’s been so crazy successful at the restaurant.
Our food menu is shaping up to be pretty amazing; it’s reminiscent of old-school Americana but elevated to make it fit the atmosphere. We're going to have fancy deviled eggs and our version of pigs in a blanket. We're doing a roasted onion dip and serving it with homemade potato chips, and you can get a caviar upgrade if you want. We have a really good brisket sandwich with pickled carrots and mozzarella cheese. We have a Branzino dish, duck legs with bok choy, and things like a snack tray with olives, chips, and mixed nuts.
Are you surprised by the growth of the Pasta Louise business, going from the cafe to the restaurant, and now the bar?
The support from the community has been tremendous from the very beginning. When I first opened the cafe location, I never imagined it was going to be as big as it ended up being. It was going to be a small pasta shop where you could come and pick up pasta and have ice cream. We never envisioned having all that seating, but we had the demand. There was always a line; people were so excited to support us.
And then everyone got to know me and saw that I have kids, and they got to know our staff. People would tell us what they wanted too. We were very open to changing our offerings based on what people would tell us they wanted. The pasta kits, for example, people really wanted a kit they could take home and do themselves. We've always been really good at adapting to what people in the community want from us. We know so many of our customers, and so many people who would pick up pasta on my stoop before we opened are still coming into the restaurants.
Do you miss selling pasta from your stoop?