Former Penny Cluse Café Co-Owner Revamps Menu at Halvorson’s Upstreet Café 

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• Melissa Pasanen
• Charles Reeves (left) and Jason Lenihan in the Halvorson's Upstreet Café courtyard.

Charles Reeves, co-owner of the shuttered landmark Penny Cluse Café, has taken his talents around the corner to launch a new menu for Halvorson's Upstreet Café, another downtown Burlington fixture. The 45-year-old pub and music venue quietly rolled out Reeves' daytime and dinner menus last week.

Reeves co-owned Penny Cluse for almost 25 years with his wife, Holly Cluse, before it closed in November. Fans of the much-missed restaurant will rejoice to see a few favorites from its menu at Halvorson's, such as chicken and biscuits, tourtière, and smoked turkey or vegetarian Reubens.

However, as Reeves noted, Halvorson's has its own regular crowd and strengths, and unlike Penny Cluse, it doesn't serve breakfast. His new menu still includes Halvorson's classics, such as clam chowder and the Bailey Melt, a grilled-cheese-meets-patty-melt sandwich. "We're adding just a little shake of Penny Cluse," Reeves said.

"It's a pub. It's a burger spot," he continued of Halvorson's. "The frickin' music scene here is incredible. I really want Halvorson's to be a spot that everyone can love and count on."

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• Melissa Pasanen
• Halvorson's new menu with the Camp Salad

Halvorson's longtime general manager, Jason Lenihan, said the restaurant's co-owners, Tim and Kristin Halvorson, saw an opportunity to leverage Reeves' expertise to refresh the menu, increase kitchen efficiency and reevaluate ingredient sourcing.

The upper Church Street pub sees a leap in foot traffic during the summer, when it seats more than 120 inside and out. "We knew we needed to be nimbler and could use a fresh set of eyes," Lenihan said. "It was time for a shake-up of the menu — and who better to shake up the menu than Charles?"

Reeves started the project about six weeks ago and expects to stay through the busy summer season to respond to customer feedback and work with Halvorson's staff, including Adam Liotta, who remains kitchen manager.

"My interest post-Penny Cluse is to help restaurants in Burlington be all they can be," Reeves said. "I'm just a guy who loves kitchens."