A year after closing, Clementine's owners seek to reopen their restaurant

For more than a year, Clementine owner Winston Blick has watched would-be customers come to the door of his shuttered restaurant, only to find the space is closed. Now, the Hamilton restaurant is working to reopen its doors to the dining public.Clementine closed in August 2015 so that Blick and his wife, Cristin Dadant, could focus on the catering arm of their business. Still working out of the empty restaurant at 5402 Harford Road, it wasn't long before Blick started feeling there was something missing.&quot;You don't realize how much people appreciate you or how much you appreciate something until it's gone,&quot; he said. &quot;So we started realizing that immediately.&quot;Blick is aiming to reopen the restaurant by Thanksgiving, on the condition the restaurant can raise $40,000 before then. Clementine launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise the funds, which Blick said will go mostly toward amassing inventory and touching up the space with fresh paint and decor.&quot;We don't want to just open up as the old Clementine,&quot; Blick said.Although the philosophy behind Clementine's sustainably sourced ingredients (including the charcuterie) will remain the same when it reopens, diners will notice some changes. The restaurant restructured its business plan after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April, and Blick said Clementine will focus more on turning a profit as it gets up and running again.The restaurant brought on a new business partner, whom Blick declined to name, to help keep the restaurant financially viable.When Clementine reopens, the restaurant will have a renewed focus on its bar program, and the space will also house a retail section for local libations — a provision its liquor license has always allowed, but one on which the owners did not capitalize before.&quot;It's not changing,&quot; Blick said. &quot;It's kind of version 2.0.&quot;The restaurant will seat about 75 when it reopens, down from 89, as some of the space will be dedicated to retail.&quot;It's a neat challenge and it's fun,&quot; Blick said. &quot;I mean it's almost doing a new one, and it's also a second chance to do it right. And that doesn't happen often.&quot;

A year after closing, Clementine's owners seek to reopen their restaurant

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