Opening Alert: Reserve Your Table for Reopened East Ender Now

It's been a long time coming, but Small Axe Truck chefs Karl Deuben and Bill Leavy finally have a non-mobile place to call their own. The East Ender—which the duo purchased last year—reopened on Monday, March 9 after two months of renovations.

The new version is stripped down. The first floor fireplace is gone, as is the most recent logo, an inexplicable scene with a tattooed egret riding a headphones-clad whale riding a bicycle. In its place is a painfully simple sign that matches the understated look favored in the neighborhood.

The Press Herald shared photos of the scene at last week's Friends and Family night, calling the interior space "more spare and subdued than it was in its previous incarnation under the ownership of Megan Schroeter." The Blueberry Files concurred in a first look at Monday's Happy Hour, saying the redesign "might seem a little plain" but is "a welcome change."

The Blueberry Files, an "unabashed fan" of Leavy and Deuben's, also raved about the cocktails and the bar snacks, including "fried vegetables in Bagna Cauda sauce ($8) and the chicken liver croquettes topped with pickled onion jam ($9)."

Details about opening hours on OpenTable are currently incorrect, as they suggest East Ender is closed Sundays, but search for reservations and the proper times should be listed. Lunch is from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.; Happy Hour is 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.; and dinner runs from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. A host at the restaurant said that Sunday, March 15, would be an exception, with no lunch or Happy Hour service.

Have you checked out the new space yet? What do you think of the design or the dining?