Downtown Modesto’s Harvest Moon reopens; new owners keep same recipes, bring new look
A new Harvest Moon has risen in downtown Modesto, and while it may look a little different its flavors should be exactly the same — with a couple notable new additions.
Sold to new Modesto-based owners this summer, the popular I Street eatery has been a downtown staple for 25 years. But in August longtime owner Mark Smallwood closed down the business and put it up for sale. Swooping in to the rescue were friends and business partners Marilyn Prescott, 32, and Jessie Wiggins, 38.
Now, a little more than a month after taking over, the women reopened the restaurant at the start of this week. The first thing you’ll notice is its new exterior, which was painted a crisp gray and black from its previous orangey-pink. Also new is a large expanded outdoor patio along the building’s eastern wall, which is now painted with an enormous mural as well.
“We wanted to incorporate a little bit of ourselves but also keep alive the spirit of what we felt was here at Harvest Moon already,” Prescott said. “Mark did some really great things here and it has a long history. We wanted to make sure everyone felt comfortable and welcome here like it was home.”
Prescott and Wiggins bought all of Smallwood’s recipes, and he served as a consultant to help with the transition. So the Neil’s Toss and the Crab Cake Benedict and the Blue Moon Burger and more all still are there. The women have added two sandwiches so far, a club and buffalo chicken, and expanded the draft craft beer selection.
They’re also staying open later than Smallwood had previously. Two years earlier he had switched from largely lunch and dinner service to a breakfast and lunch schedule instead. But now Harvest Moon will be open daily until at least 6 p.m., and on the weekends until 10 p.m., with plans to expand that in the future.
New sandwich and cocktail choices on bistro menu
But even with those changes, the partners said they were serious about preserving the restaurant’s and Smallwood’s legacy, while also bringing new people in to experience the place. That means focusing more on some fun brunch ideas, like offering the brunch-time magnet of bottom-less mimosas and adding fun, signature drinks like their new, enormous Bloody Mary.
Called “The Bryan” after Wiggins’s brother, it’s a 34-ounce drink garnished with slices of bacon, crudités and a whole grilled cheese sandwich as garnish. Yes, you read that right, an entire cheddar-and-swiss grilled cheese sandwich. Talk about your drinks that eat like a meal.
The new expanded outdoor area adds about 20 seats to the existing patio space, taking their overall al fresco seating to about 37. They will have music on Fridays and Saturday nights on the new patio as well. Inside the restaurant can fit 49, though they have reopened it for about 17 indoors right now while the county is in the red tier of COVID-19 safety restrictions.
The reopening of indoor dining came sooner than the women had expected, so the interior decor is still being worked on. They were able to expand the peek-through windows into the bar and the back dining area, opening up the interior.
The women are also fully utilizing the two-story building. For their day jobs, both women work as Realtors with RE/MAX, so the upstairs has been transformed into their office. They said they’ve been able to blend their two businesses seamlessly on site, bringing real estate clients up and then bringing them down again to the restaurant to celebrate when deals close.
You also might see the women’s kids — ages 5 and 14 for Prescott and 12 for Wiggins — going up and down between the two floors as well, as the pair are using the upstairs as a makeshift distance-learning headquarters while schools are still closed.
In December the restaurant should be approved for its full liquor license; right now it can only serve beer and wine. So once that comes through expect them to concoct more signature cocktails and start staying open later. But before that, in November, you should start seeing some new menu items pop up.
Full liquor license, longer hours coming to restaurant
That includes more food inspired by their families’ roots. Wiggins, who hails from southeast Georgia, and Prescott, who has family in Texas and Louisiana, will incorporate some classic Southern recipes into their offerings. Think chicken and waffles, Cajun boudin sausage, shrimp and grits and peach cobbler.
Having tried some of the menu existing favorites, like the fried avocado tacos and crab toss, I can confirm that you should remain over “The Moon” (the restaurant’s affectionate nickname) with the results. Breakfast items range from $8.99 to $19.99, with sandwiches and burgers ranging from $13.99 to $19.99.
You can expect to see basically all of the same staff as well, from the head chef to the wait staff. They brought back nine of the existing staff and hired another half dozen to help run the restaurant (and are still looking for more).
Another nostalgic thing that hasn’t changed, though not for initial lack of trying, is the bistro’s sign with its moon-and-sun logo. The women had wanted to hang their own sign with two wolves, symbolizing their company name (Two Wolves LLC) and their status as fierce “mama wolves.” But when they tried to take the original logo down, it wouldn’t budge. So they realized it was meant to be.
Together, despite all the current complications, they hope to keep The Moon shining in downtown for years and years to come.
“Sometimes I feel you have to take big chances to win, and opening a restaurant in a pandemic is a big chance,” Wiggins said. “And we feel like downtown is going to take a turn and come back. And we want to be part of that comeback.”
This story was originally published October 18, 2020 at 4:00 AM.
