Disco Chick: Hop Knot owners opening new Middletown restaurant serving gourmet wings and fries on Main Street Burgeoning success allows Hop Knot gourmet pretzel, craft beer bar to expand four doors down with Disco Chick

In January, The Hop Knot owners John Schauster, left, and Michael Boney will open a wings restaurant a few doors down in Middletown’s Metro Square plaza on Main Street called Disco Chick. In January, The Hop Knot owners John Schauster, left, and Michael Boney will open a wings restaurant a few doors down in Middletown’s Metro Square plaza on Main Street called Disco Chick. Photo: Contributed Photo Photo: Contributed Photo Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Disco Chick: Hop Knot owners opening new Middletown restaurant serving gourmet wings and fries on Main Street 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

MIDDLETOWN >> In April, when The Hop Knot craft beer and gourmet pretzels bar opened at 170 Main St., co-owners John Schauster and Michael Boney had high hopes for the business.

With sales and patronage now booming, the owners are looking ahead to the launch of a new restaurant in January, four doors down in the Metro Square plaza: a 30-seat establishment called Disco Chick.

Boney explained the roots of the new endeavor. “We needed more storage space for The Hop Knot. So, when the restaurant Mi Argentina went out of business, we scooped up the space. We think this is a great opportunity,” he said.

The space was already set up for a restaurant, Boney said, and he and Schauster had talked about their dream to create a place that concentrates on wings and a certain type of fries.

A date for the January opening has yet to be set.

Last spring, the 2014 University of Connecticut graduates launched a craft beer bar with 24 taps and a full liquor license — and pretzels as the ideal complement. The Hop Knot pretzels, baked fresh to order, come in all shapes and sizes, stuffed or with various sauces on the side.

However, it’s not all beer and pretzels. General manager Anthony Calamusa, also a 2014 UConn grad, boasts a team of bartenders who, he brags, can make even the most demanding drinks.

About Disco Chick customers, Boney said, “We’re looking for food enthusiasts who want to try something different.”

Disco Chick will be open until 2 a.m. and serve gourmet wings and disco fries, which have Canadian roots. According to the website localfoods.about.com, disco fries are the American version of poutine, a French-Canadian dish described as fries with brown gravy and cheese curds. The website says poutine is “crazy delicious — drawing you to eat more than your actual appetite would ever dictate ...”

The arrangement at Disco Chick will be bring-your-own-beverage: The Hop Knot will offer growler fills (glass jugs that allow patrons to carry fresh draft beer from the pub) and customers will be able to bring those 32-ounce growlers to Disco Chick to drink and eat there.

Boney says The Hop Knot will soon sell growlers. Connecticut liquor law requires brew pubs to fill only growlers they sell with beer. Patrons can reuse The Hop Knot growers to get refills, however.

“We’ll do our best to keep giving people what they want,” Schauster said of the new eatery.

Boney says Disco Chick customers can build their own menu by choosing the kind of fries they want: regular fries, tater tots, house chips (homemade potato chips) or waffle fries. Next, they’ll select from an à-la-carte menu that includes sauces, cheeses, meats, vegetables and miscellaneous items like sour cream. Takeout and delivery will also be available.

Since its April opening, The Hop Knot has carried selections from area craft beer breweries on tap, such as Stubborn Beauty, which brews at Middletown’s Remington Rand building. Ample offerings include City Steam Naughty Nurse IPA, Sip of Sunshine IPA, Captain’s Daughter double IPA, and beers brewed around the state, including those from Back East Brewery and Thomas Hooker Brewing Company, both based in Bloomfield; and Outer Light Brewing Company of Groton.

Half of their tap offerings are made in the Nutmeg State. “We really want to try and concentrate on local breweries in Connecticut because that is what we want to support,” Boney explained.

Boney says he and Schauster have “big plans for the future” and promises “other The Hop Knots to come.” The two have been scouting possible locations, Boney said, including the Shoreline and West Hartford.

For information, visit The Hop Knot and Disco Chick on Facebook or thehopknot.com or call 860-788-6651.