The Saugerties Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting on Friday, August 26 for a new restaurant, Salt & Fire. The restaurant first opened its doors to customers, a so-called soft opening, on July 6. 

The owners, two couples who describe themselves as friends, located their new venture in the former Bella Luna Restaurant at 124 Partition Street. The restaurant describes its offerings as contemporary American cuisine, which owner Rhianna Rodriguez described as an eclectic blending of various cuisine. The other partners in the restaurant are her husband, Jorge Rodriguez, Joseph Della Chilies and Kaitlyn Della Chiesa. The Rodriguez’s also own the Main Street Cafe, a popular Mexican restaurant, around the corner on Main Street.

A feature of the new restaurant is a wood-fired oven, which offers a flavor of its own from the wood smoke in which it is cooked. Such items as wood-fired porterhouse steak, chicken and rack of lamb, as well as items like pan-seared sea bass and crispy duck breast are cooked with more conventional heat sources. Among the appetizers are wood-fired shrimp, several seasoned flatbreads and artichoke skewers.

The home page slogan says it all: “Boasting the Hudson Valley’s local flavors and finest ingredients.”

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