Transitioning into the Alchemy Lounge

Since the Costa family purchased the former First Avenue Taphouse last July, the first-time restaurant owners have been experimenting with menu items, cocktails and reading their customers as they worked to renovate the new establishment, which is now officially the Alchemy Lounge.

When owners John and Stephanie Costa took over the business, they created a temporary restaurant called The Interim Bar as they worked to revamp the rest of the space before it became the Alchemy Lounge. During the last six months, the Costas have transformed the space with an open design, added a whiskey bar and brought in a former Beargrass Bistro chef to create a tapas menu. There’s also an attached casino with 18 machines but it is separate from the bar and restaurant.

“The Interim has been our sandbox for building this sandcastle that will be the Alchemy Lounge,” general manager Joey Costa, John’s son, said.

During that time frame, the restaurant tried four different menus and eventually hired head chef Keefe Carvelli to incorporate his background in Italian and classic French dishes into shared plates.

The Alchemy plans to locally source as much as it can from places like Wicked Good Produce and Flathead Fish and Seafood. It will also have a seasonal menu.

“The goal is to get all of our food locally sourced as much as we can with the seasonality and establish connections with local farmers and producers,” Joey Costa said.

However, Carvelli uses New Zealand sourced lamb for lamb lollipops, which come with a balsamic fig jam and heirloom tomatoes, and wild caught salmon for fish tacos. Other menu items include elk sliders, shishito peppers and a charcuterie board.

The bar maintains a local connection, with 14 beers, primarily craft beer, on tap ranging from local Kalispell breweries to Bozeman to a few international choices. There are also 10 wines on tap split between red and white, which Joey Costa says is becoming a trend in the industry.

“When you open up wine from a bottle, it instantly oxidizes, changing the flavor,” Joey said. “But this never touches air until it’s poured. It’s a fresher way of serving wine.”

Separate from the main bar is a smaller whiskey bar located within the lounge area, serving unique bourbons, rye whiskey, scotch and tequilas that other bars and restaurants in the valley don’t have.

As downtown Kalispell experiences a revitalization in development, with new establishments like the Mercantile Steak, KM Bar and extensive projects in the works along the new Parkline Trail, John Costa wanted to create a space unlike anything else in the city.

“It’s elevated food, elevated cocktails and really nice whiskeys at a reasonable price that we wanted to make accessible,” John Costa said. “We didn’t need another steakhouse, we wanted something that will complement the local folks, so they have options to go around. The way we steered the restaurant is more of a lounge with shared plates.”

“We’re seeing the excitement here in Kalispell with the revitalization of downtown,” he added. “We want to be part of the community.”

Alchemy Lounge is open Tuesday through Friday for lunch and Tuesday through Saturday for lunch and dinner.