INTEL: ZIEMANN HOSPITALITY RETURNS TO ALBANY WITH BAR CALVIN
Hospitality power couple Kaytrin + Devin Ziemann, who own The Nest and Milas Restaurant in Schenectady, are returning to Albany with the planned opening of Bar Calvin in Stuyvesant Plaza.
For the couple who previously operated Crave Burgers & Froyo + The Cuckoo’s Nest in Albany, it’s a full circle moment, and a renewed expansion of Ziemann Hospitality after keeping their focus on Schenectady while raising a young family.
Their children are both part of the inspiration: Milas Restaurant is named for their now 4-year old daughter, Mila; Bar Calvin, named for their 8-year old son, will even the plate with his own namesake restaurant. I caught up with the Ziemanns on-site at Stuyvesant Plaza, right on time for them to receive the official key to their space in the former TGI Fridays anchor building. Custom construction hats included!
— SDP
Hard hats + a gutted TGI Fridays lay the foundation for Ziemann Hospitality’s future Bar Calvin.
A new, upscale Stuyvesant Plaza restaurant by Chef Devin + Kaytrin Ziemann, hospitality entrepreneurs known for The Nest + MIlas in Schenectady, is under construction with an estimated opening date of June 2027.
Bar Calvin Stuyvesant Plaza 1475 Western Ave, Albany | Bar Calvin website
Chef Devin and Kaytrin, this is such exciting news. The sign on the window says “Can’t wait for martinis + steaks!”
What can you tell us about Bar Calvin?
KZ: Bar Calvin is our 5th restaurant opening, and the concept is reimagined American fare. Just because our brand is modern luxury, we still want this to feel fun. The bar will be our anchor in terms of the center of the restaurant, the focal point and what we imagine will be a very busy lively central location in the space, with more intimate dining rooms surrounding the perimeter. And the restaurant will be open for lunch and dinner, 7-days-a-week.
With Milas named for your daughter and Bar Calvin for your son, how will the overall brand and design differ?
KZ: Milas is light, airy, is intended to transfer you to a breezy city next to the medditeranean while bar Calvin will be rich in color, moody in design, a bit more mysterious in the layout where you cant see behind every corner. We have been leaning into Milas embodies our feminine energy while Bar Calvin will deliver a more masculine vibe.
Chef, what can we expect on the menu? How will it differ from The Nest or Milas?
KZ: The food will have a drastic change creatively and stylistically. We want you to read these menu’s and feel nostalgia, then when the food arrives it completely changes the way you thought about your favorite dishes.
DZ: The menu will be anchored with American classics, reimagined. This menu is a tribute to all of my favorite things, growing up on the east coast spending summers in Cape Cod eating raw oysters, home made pasta on with our children, A juicy prime rib on Christmas Day, a perfectly roasted chicken during a snow storm. Food is a deeply personal thing and this menu is going to be the most personal one I put out. With a name like Bar Calvin, an elevated bar program should be expected, plus finishing the night with whimsical desserts. Everything done with attention to detail and with a touch of luxury.
Does opening in Stuyvesant Plaza feel like a full circle moment for you as a return to Albany where you previously had Crave + The Cuckoo’s Nest?
KZ: Absolutely, this location feels like another pinch me moment—which they honestly all have!
DZ: My culinary journey began in Stuyvesant plaza in 2002 when I took a position at the Londonderry Café as a dishwasher! I spent 4 years there and became the chef before leaving. I was back in the Plaza in 2008 as part of the opening team of Creo. The first business plan I ever wrote was to open a restaurant in the Plaza and I worked with the Small Business Development Center to create it and who operated in the offices behind the Plaza! (Laughs} So, it for sure feels like a homecoming. We are absolutely thrilled to be back in Albany and serving our guests who have had to make the trek to Schenectady to see us. This is a door we have been waiting to open for a long time.
The TGI Friday space has been completely gutted and its huge! Do you have to build it all out + do you have an estimated opening date?
KZ: Yes! This project is starting as an empty vanilla shell and we will work with our construction team to build it to our specifications. Our goal is summer 2027.
I have to ask if your son Calvin is beyond excited?
KZ: Extremely! Devin currently rotates his Milas shirt and Nest shirts all week, and Calvin asks “When will you wear a bar Calvin shirt?” so for his birthday in May we ordered some Bar Calvin merch and surprised him by having them all on when he woke up! Now he wears his every week. He really beams with pride when we talk about the project… Can’t wait to get him his first kitchen job in Stuyvesant Plaza, just like his dad!
Photo credits: K.D.O Photography
