It’s been over a decade since Thomas Keller convinced Richard Reddington to open a restaurant in Yountville. "I never thought I’d live in the country, but he was like, ‘It’s gonna blow up and you should stay,’" Reddington recalled. "I listened to him, and it worked out." Worked out all the way to Redd turning itself into a Napa Valley staple with its refined Californian cuisine and relaxed bar option. "I wasn’t going to come into Yountville and compete with Thomas Keller in the super fine dining realm, so I just wanted someplace that would be a little more casual, fine dining but not pretentious, and I wanted a fun bar to appeal to the locals," Reddington explained of the original concept.
Now 10 years in this month, he and his partners decided to "show it some love" with a redesign by Los Angeles’ House of Honey that didn’t make any structural changes, but adds some color to the space. What Reddington didn’t want the redesign to do is turn Redd into a totally new restaurant, which is why the menu is staying the same. "I don’t want it to seem like, ‘Why are they changing something that’s been working for 10 years?’" he said. "I just want to focus on consistency and make people say, ‘Redd’s better than ever.’" The restaurant reopened on Monday after a week closure to make the changes, which you can see in the photos above.
Moving forward, Reddington is focusing on what he hopes is another 10 years, as well as a different new concept that focuses on casual Mexican food. "I know it’s really hot now but I want to do tacos and whiskey and tequila. A really small menu and just good tacos and beer and booze," he said. He’s been looking at spaces in Napa, though hasn’t found anything quite yet. In the meantime, there’s Redd and Redd Wood, its more casual Italian little sister down the street, to focus on. "When you open a restaurant, you never think about it being 10 years old," he said. "Or at least I didn’t, so it’s good. Yountville’s a good place to be."
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