Comal restaurant in downtown Fort Thomas opened last spring and began operations with a carryout menu. The restaurant’s tacos and tostadas became an instant hit, and business has been steady. They closed for a short time to make some improvements including a new floor, but celebrated a reopening of their space last week.
In addition to the floor and some additional indoor seating, the restaurant unveiled a new backroom available for larger groups and open for parties. The room has more tables and a long red wooden bench but the focal point of the space is a new mural by local artist Ben Harrison.
Focusing on food and community
Despite almost instant popularity from the moment they opened, owners Leticia and Michael Messmer have been measured and deliberate in how they have expanded and added improvements to their space. Staying small and focused has been a key ingredient in their success, said Leticia Messmer. The small front area has created the intimacy they needed to develop their menu to reflect local tastes.
“Our primary focus has always been the food,” she said. “It’s been good because we’ve changed a lot of things. We created the menu based on people’s wants and needs. So there’s vegetarian options, vegan options, gluten free. All of those things that we have are based on us listening to our community. So having that small space has facilitated a lot of conversation.
“We’ve been able to build a lot of relationships here in our community, which is exactly what we wanted. So we were not in any hurry because we were not about selling but about building relationships first and seeing what people wanted. And we are constantly tweaking…creating new specials every week.”
The small and focused start has been good for the couple as well as their business as they’ve had the opportunity to get to know their customers, many who are also neighbors. It’s great to go to the park and feel like you know everybody, Messmer said.
She’s said she’s never been concerned about the restaurant’s intimate setting.
“It was great to start out small,” she said. “Customers are not coming because they have a place to sit. They’re coming because the food is good.”
Adding more space
With that said, the new back room will accommodate larger groups, and the couple took time to create a serving area that will help get food out efficiently.
Michael Messmer had a vision for the backroom. After adding tables, he said, he really wanted a large booth that would run the length of the main wall. When he looked into the cost of having one built, the cost was prohibitive. He had requested an estimate from Newport-based Fedders Construction, but told them he would need to look at other things to do with the space.
Yet, in the end, Fedders came through. Messmer wanted to make sure to give them credit for their help. Soon after the conversation about the booth, the company began work rehabbing a LaRosa’s restaurant. The company removed a long wooden booth during the renovation and remembered Messmer’s request. They asked if he’d like the bench, and now it’s painted a warm rusty red and installed along the wall under the new mural.
Honoring Mexican heritage and a musical legacy
The Messmers hired Ben Harrison to paint their mural. Harrison, who goes by Zaxerl in his work, moved to Fort Thomas last year. He had a business in Asheville, North Carolina, and spent some years in New York before deciding on Fort Thomas. He said he has a friend here and was considering moving somewhere new, when he looked at a map and discovered that Fort Thomas was about two hours away from seven major metropolitan areas — and potential customers for his large format artwork. In fact, he said, since moving here he has tripled his business with commissions in Louisville, Lexington, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Columbus, Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio.
The mural is a collaboration between the owners and the artist. The interests and input of each of the owners is included. Leticia’s side of the mural draws on her Mexican roots and explores Mexican culture and history. Three iconic figures are traveling in a car across a beautiful desert scene (and headed to Comal). In the car are painter Frida Kahlo, her partner muralist and painter Diego Rivera and revolutionary leader Emilano Zapata.
Harrison said he took inspiration for that portion of the mural from a popular digital image. It depicts Kahlo and Salvador Dali riding in a convertible driven by Vincent Van Gogh against a backdrop of “Starry Night.” With that as a starting point, Harrison includes some of “Starry Night” above his Mexican desert scene and in the distance placed workers a field to pay homage to Rivera’s work.
Michael Messmer’s side is an ode to the Grateful Dead and includes the band’s rose crowned skeleton mascot Bertha. Harrison added another skeleton and the pair form a little Mariachi band in one corner.
Harrison said he was pleased to create such a fun and interesting piece for the restaurant — and, he said, he believes in their mission to bring fresh food to the community.
“One of the big things in Asheville was food-to-table, fresh food. This is one of the only few places I have found around here that serves that really fresh food.”
The Messmers said they invite the community to stop in and see the mural and enjoy the food. Comal is located at 18 North Fort Thomas Avenue in the Hiland Building.
