Moxie Catering takes over the R Bar space

• Jaimie Warren
• The R Bar will return as a restaurant, under a new name, by autumn.

Last Saturday marked a turning point for the West Bottoms restaurant space formerly known as the R Bar. The current tenant of 1617 Genessee is now Moxie Catering, the 11-year-old catering firm owned by Jill Myers and Wes Gartner (who are engaged, but haven’t had time to plan their own wedding yet). The Moxie staff used the long, historic dining hall for a wedding reception. Two more wedding receptions have already been booked for the venue.

But don’t write it off as a destination dining spot yet. Wes Gartner says it will reopen as a restaurant in several months. The new venue will not be called the R Bar, he says. “But we’re not ready to release the new name yet,” Gartner adds.