On Wednesday, Restaurant Tyler and Zorba’s Greek Tavern created a new meaning to the word ‘‘pop.” Both restaurants were transformed into Mexican eateries for the night; thus, the pop up restaurant. Brian Kelley, owner of Restaurant Tyler, Zorba’s Greek Tavern, Bin 612 and Rock Bottom Bar & Grill, said the pop up restaurant concept is something different and original for Starkville.
“A pop up restaurant for us is just a temporary installation, a one night ‘food exhibit’ so to speak,” Kelley said.
Ty Thames, the chef of Restaurant Tyler, said a lot of people like Mexican food for one day, and one day only and the concept is a way to be ‘playful’ with the menu.
“I think Mexican cuisine is so universally popular, it was a good starting point to let Chef Ty put his spin on,” Kelley said.
Of course, the spontaneous Mexican theme comes with food with influence from south of the border.
“The menu is going to be smaller than usual and all Mexican with lower prices ranging from $3-5,” Thames said. “People can order different things and not just one dish.”
“We plan to make the pop up concept inside of Restaurant Tyler a consistent occurrence,” Kelley said. “It will let people try cuisines from a lot of different regions that we are not normally able to offer at Restaurant Tyler.”
“Every week on a different day, there will be a pop up theme for different meals like brunch,” Thames said.