Old Town Cellar adds Full Menu

The Desert Sun • February 11th, 2010

The Nicholses are finding out just what the phrase “bigger is better” means.

Dustin and Dana Nichols, longtime restaurant industry folks and owners of Old Town Cellar, have unveiled an expanded menu to add to their expanded space.

Once a small wine shop, Old Town Cellar has doubled in size to become one of La Quinta's premiere venues for live music.

“We wanted a place to hang out at, and we realized that La Quinta needed a place for people in our demographic,” Dana Nichols said.

The Nichols opened the then-wine retail store in 2004, slowly rolling out additions like a patio and wine bar the following years. Last year, they added a stage and in October began serving lunch and started a new happy hour.

Its most recent changes include a full menu — with dessert — that includes popular dishes like the Old Town Cellar house specialty, slow-roasted BBQ baby back ribs; a fig & prosciutto flatbread and All- American sliders, which are meatloaf sliders inspired by an old family recipe.

“As we've expanded and our customer base has grown, we've tried to grow with them and give them what they want,” said Dustin Nichols, adding that many of the Old Town Cellar's changes have come from customer feedback.

In the end, however, Dana Nichols said, “this is our baby” and no matter how many changes it goes through, “it's still us.”

“We're still a place that you can come in and get advice about wine — but now you can stay and hang out too,” Dustin Nichols said.

He admits he's had butterflies since the store opened that always come back when they decide to test out a new venture.

“With the economy, you never know day-to-day what's going to happen,” he said. “We took a chance when we opened in the beginning, and while we feel comfortable with where we're at now, it's definitely a risk every time we try something new.”

But the Nicholses hope residents and visitors alike will agree it's a risk worth taking.