Downtown Columbus restaurant expands menu, to open for lunch

A downtown Columbus restaurant that opened earlier this year is now expanding its hours and and menu options.

River & Rail at 1232 Broadway opened on Valentine’s Day with a small plate concept that served only dinner. Beginning Tuesday, the restaurant will be open for lunch beginning at 11:30 a.m., said owner Leah Foley. The restaurant will serve lunch until 3 p.m. when it switches to the dinner menu.

River & Rail serves brunch on Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

“We live downtown and hear the voice of the community,” Leah Foley said Monday. “We will have more options in the menu.”

The lunch menu will be different than the dinner menu and is designed to get customers in and out within the lunch hour.

“We want to get you out of there and back to your desk,” Leah Foley said.

The ownership has been adjusting the menu, said Director of Operations Frank Foley IV.

“We want to get away from the small plate idea at lunch,” Frank Foley said. “There will be more regular-sized sandwiches and regular-sized salads.”

In addition to adding lunch on Tuesday-Friday, the restaurant also started opening on Monday nights earlier this month. Many of the downtown restaurants close on Monday nights.

“That is a void we think we can fill,” Leah Foley said.

They are also tweaking their night menu, which has focused on small plates that diners are encouraged to share, Frank Foley said.

“We are still going to have the small plates on the menu, but there will be more larger portions, as well,” Foley said. “We are going to have more options and more options for a la carte. We have been listening to the feedback.”

This story was originally published June 19, 2017 at 2:49 PM with the headline "Downtown Columbus restaurant expands menu, to open for lunch."