Rocky Hill’s new restaurant can point to hometown roots

Restaurant No. One53 opens on Washington Street

By: Jake Uitti
   ROCKY HILL — In a small town like Rocky Hill, very little goes unnoticed. So it’s probably no news at this point that there’s a new hot spot to sit and have a meal, a conversation and maybe a glass or two of wine on Washington Street.
   Restaurant No. One53, which opened its doors last week, features a selection of bistro fare with a casual atmosphere serving everything from burgers to fillet with fresh pasta and a variety of appetizers.
   Walking through the red entranceway, you see the bar on your left. The bar itself, fabricated by Country Cabinets in Montgomery, was made out a fallen limb from the famous Mercer Oak, which once stood proudly at Princeton Battlefield State Park. Country Cabinets did the majority of the woodwork for the restaurant.
   Below the ground floor, co-owners of the restaurant, Joe McLaughlin and Caron Wendell, have installed a vast wine cellar that includes dining seating for 24 people. To make room for the wine cellar, the building had to be raised 32 inches off the ground. There is a flat-screen television hanging in the top left corner of the cellar.
   "You can watch a ball game or do a PowerPoint presentation," said Mr. McLaughlin.
   It’s not unique for a restaurant to sell wine, but what is unique about One53 is that if diners enjoy their drink, it need not be the last time.
   "If you come here and like the bottle you have, you can actually buy some and take it home with you," said Mr. McLaughlin.
   For now, the bar is open from 4:30 to 11 p.m. and the kitchen is open from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Once the kitchen gets its feet on the ground, Mr. McLaughlin said, One53 will be open for lunches and on Sundays as well.
   The restaurant can hold 75 patrons and serves, Mr. McLaughlin said, "simple food with good ingredients."
   Mr. McLaughlin and Ms. Wendell are no strangers to the Princeton area. They are co-owners of Lucy’s Ravioli Kitchen, located on Route 206 near the Montgomery-Princeton border.
   Mr. McLaughlin said they hope to incorporate some of the fresh pasta from Lucy’s in their fare, potentially having a pasta buffet on Sundays with an array of pasta choices.
   Ms. Wendell said she is very happy to have a restaurant in Rocky Hill, the place where she has lived for 14 years.
   "We love the community," she said. "Rocky Hill is a great town with great people and is really community-minded. This is a great thing for the community, to have a destination you can walk to and walk home from."