Five Fourteen brings new flavors and traditional favorites to area

“I remember seeing the Yaggi’s building was for sale,” Kim Mosby explained how the process started for the creation of Five Fourteen, a new, unique dining experience in Jasper.

“I told my husband about it, and he said “oh my gosh, we have to have that,'” Kim said. “Because so many people have great childhood memories here. I can’t tell you how many people have stopped us and talked to us about the wonderful times they have had with their families here.”

Besides the great memories, Kim and her husband B. Todd Mosby and their partners/in-laws, Eric and Kelli Curtis, were interested in preserving a restaurant near the heart of Jasper. The two couples operate a building renovation business together.

“We are just a block from the Square, and there is a great vibe down here,” Kim explained. “The location couldn’t be more perfect.”

Originally, the team just wanted to renovate the building and find someone to lease the restaurant portion.

After purchasing Yaggi’s in June of 2014, they completely gutted it and created four new upstairs apartments, two single-room units and two studio apartments. But the restaurateur they were seeking didn’t materialize and after about a year, Kim, who had owned and operated a restaurant in California, decided to create the vision she had in mind for the area.

“In a state of insanity, even though I said I would never do it again, here I am,” she laughed.

Five Fourteen will officially open in the former Yaggi’s at 514 Jackson St., Wednesday at 11 a.m. for lunch. Two menus will be offered with the lunch menu being smaller dishes designed for in and out traffic.

The dinner menu will feature some of the same but expanded to include a raw bar with oysters and ceviche as well as smoked entrées like pulled pork, chicken, and ribs with the signature 514 sauce. There is even a 32-ounce signature steak.

For those not so carnivorously inclined, vegetarian and vegan options are mingled into the menu as well.

Three pizzas are offered. The Traditional is exactly what the name implies. Then there is the Smoking Summer Veggie, which features smoked vegetables, smoked gouda, basil pesto or traditional pizza sauce. And finally, the intriguing Pickled Hog, which has house-smoked pulled pork, Manchego crema, house pickled onion and pickles on it.

Full menus can be found on the restaurant’s website, 514Jackson.us.

Visitors to the new restaurant will likely be surprised by the decor changes in the 66-year-old bar. The classic Yaggi’s bar has been moved to the south wall and is now garnished with a stainless steel and leather accented bar. Elegant wood chairs have replaced the sturdy bar stools.

Several private booths have been created, and an eat-at bar now looks out the windows to Jackson Street. A patio dining area is under construction. It will feature outdoor heaters and nearly double the seating at the restaurant.

The onsite mixologist/front of house manager Barry Dunlop is a French-trained chef from Ireland (the country) with a penchant for creating drinks from scratch. His propensity for handcrafted drinks is only eclipsed by the extensive wine list the new restaurant boasts.

Kim hopes Five Fourteen will appeal to the millennials returning to the area. “There seems to be a lot of young people coming back. People go away and they say they’ll never come back but then they realize the value of a town like Jasper and return,” she said. “When they return, they have these big-city tastes and a new culinary repertoire. We hope to be able to provide for that.”

Funny story, Barry connected with Kim by answering a job ad he found on Craig’s List. For Kim, he seems to have been heaven sent but in reality, he just happens to be married to one of those millennials who have returned to Dubois County. He and the former Brittany Becher were married and living in Cincinnati when the couple decided that since they were driving to Dubois County regularly for visits, they might as well just move back home.

For Kim, she just wants to fill a niche that is not currently available locally. She has brought a new cuisine to the area. “We will have the traditional, what people are comfortable with here,” she explained. “The uncomfortable side of the menu is where my heart lies. The more contemporary cuisine that you might not find here.”

Five Fourteen has three parts to its identity according to Kim; Smokehouse, Urban Tavern and Raw Bar.

Smokehouse. “We are going to smoke everything we can.”

Urban Tavern. “Urban means city and a tavern is a place you can hang out with your buds. You will be able to get a really good big-city cocktail but it’s not pretentious.”

Raw Bar. “That will feature raw oysters and ceviche, a South American dish that features raw seafood ‘cooked’ in a citrus juice. It’s really yummy.”

The new smokehouse, urban tavern, and raw bar opens officially on Wednesday. The hours are Wednesdays and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. They can be reached at 812-351-1711.

In the future, Kim plans on holding special classes on wine and liquor pairings. Other events include live jazz on the patio and whatever else the crew can come up with based on good food and good times. “I have adult onset ADD and I have to feed that monster,” Kim laughed. “I am sure we will find things that people love.”