Goodbye 128 Cafe, hello Stewart’s.

The little ground-level cafe that’s been closed for renovations since June is changing concepts.

Chef/owner Max Thompson said that the further he got along in changing the interior, the more he felt like everything had to change.

The new name is actually an old name — the place was a neighborhood cafe called Stewart’s before it was the 128. Related Articles Surdyk’s adds bar and eatery called Sidebar

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“In our remodeling we found an old coupon book (with 5, 10 and 25 cent tear-out stamps) that just seemed cool and resonated with us,” Thompson said in an email. “At one point, Stewart’s was a true neighborhood cafe (in this very space) selling Wonder bread, spam, saltines along with burgers and 3.2 beer.”

So what will a modern-day Stewart’s look like?

For one thing, it’ll have a bar. Thompson has scored a full liquor license and has added a copper-capped bar that will seat 10. He’s hired Tyler Kleinow, a senior bartender at Marvel Bar, to help set up the bar program, which Jesse James, formerly of Marvel but currently working in Portland, Ore., to run the bar on a day-to-day basis.

The cocktail program will be based on local liquors as much as possible, Thompson said, and of course there will be wine and local beer.

The newly configured restaurant will still seat about 65. The front area will have some high-tops for a more bar-like feel, and they’ve added banquettes to the back room, but it will still feel more like a restaurant, Thompson said.

The menu will be casual, but high-quality. Thompson said it’ll be mostly small plates “celebrating the varied collective American experience.” Yes, there will be a burger, but also things like kimchi tostadas, “chicken-fried stuff” and plenty of vegetables. Thompson also will have a fryer and a griddle for the first time in a remodeled kitchen that will give him more menu flexibility.

Thompson also wants people to know that he’s adding a few parking spots for customers in the back of the building, and the city has loosened parking restrictions surrounding the space.

The opening is coming soon — sometime in mid- to late September. They’ll serve dinner only until they get a handle on things, and will add lunch and weekend brunch shortly thereafter. Thompson is hoping to attract more of the college crowd with Dogwood coffee and juices and a generally more casual atmosphere, but he also wants neighbors to have a place to hang out and get a high-quality bite to eat.

“We just want to be an all-day neighborhood spot, free of pretension in our food, drinks and service that everyone, both young and old, will feel comfortable in,” he said.