New brasserie brings a taste of Paris to Melrose

Inspired by their travels around Europe, James Lenhart and Tory Johnson dreamed of running their own restaurant.

When the tiny, two-story building on the southeast corner of Camelback Road and Seventh Avenue went up for sale, the couple knew it was perfect.

Lenhart and Johnson share a love of food, wine and European joie de vivre and felt that the midcentury space that formerly held Asian-fusion restaurant Belly, was the perfect home to bring their dream to life. They bought the building in September and opened Brasserie Melrose on Dec. 3.

The concept is designed to be quintessentially European. In the morning, the cafe serves espresso drinks and exquisitely crafted pastries. At lunch, the menu shifts to classic soups, sandwiches and salads best paired with a glass of French rosé. And soon, dinner will join the mix.  

When customers enter on the ground floor, they are greeted by an open kitchen and espresso bar. After ordering at the counter, folks can take a pastry and coffee to go or stop for breakfast at one of the downstairs bistro tables. For a longer visit, head upstairs and grab a stool along the bar or linger on the sun-drenched patio. 

French music flows throughout. Upstairs, globe lights cast a warm glow over two- and four-seat tables, and along the central 13-seat bar. Light flows in from the patio through a sliding glass wall. Black and white striped drapes surround the outdoor tables, while a moodier color scheme envelops the interior. 

Every detail, from unique furniture and artwork found at local vintage shops to the warm blankets ready for chilly days on the patio, is intentional. And Lenhart notes, there’s not a single painting or statue of the Eiffel Tower. The brasserie is not “Disneyland meets Paris,” he says. But rather a representation of what he and Johnson love about spending a day wandering the French capital and stopping by a neighborhood brasserie for a bite and a glass of wine.

“You get classic, delicious, quality food, but it’s not like a Michelin-style dining, it’s just good food,” Lenhart says. 

The start of a dream

Prior to opening their restaurant, Lenhart and Johnson ran a private chef company for the last five years. While they enjoyed the work, clients’ schedules could be sporadic and the duo wanted something more consistent. 

They also view the new restaurant as a trial run for an even bigger dream. One day, they hope to run a small hotel or bed and breakfast somewhere in Spain.  Until then, they’re testing their recipes and restaurant skills here in Phoenix. 

“We figured if we can’t do it here, we probably can’t do it there,” Lenhart says. 

Over the last five years, the duo have taken many trips to Europe, sometimes spending a month at a time in France.

“We came home one day, and I wanted a jambon-beurre and an onion soup. It was a cold day, and we could not find that anywhere,” Lenhart says.

So, they set out to fix that. Initially, the couple envisioned a restaurant inspired by the South of France. However, since the region is sandwiched between Italy and Spain, the cuisine leans more toward a fusion of Mediterranean flavors. That fusion, the couple noted, is readily available in the Valley. But classic Parisian food, without fine dining prices? Harder to find.

“We just felt like, if we’re gonna do it, just lean into something and be good at it,” Lenhart says.

Accessibility, of the food and drink items and their prices, was important to the couple. 

“In the U.S., people tend to think French food is very fancy, very kind of haute cuisine,” Johnson says. “We just wanted that neighborhood place. You come in, you have a a spritz or a French 75, and pair that with some something casual.”

What’s on the food menu?

The duo scouted Johnson’s brother, Kyle, who had been working at high-end resorts in Utah, to return to the Valley and take up the role as their head pastry chef. The brothers worked together to create an all-day menu of offerings from classic butter croissants to a rotation of tartines and heartier lunch options.

When it comes to items on the food menu, almost every dish is a labor of love. 

“I don’t think there’s a single thing on the menu that’s quick and easy,” Johnson says.

The humble butter croissant requires a three-day process, starting with imported French butter and resulting in glossy pastries packed with flaky layers. The pastries are baked early in the morning, creating the enticing aroma that welcomes the brasserie’s first customers each day. 

On prep days, the kitchen smells savory and rich as bones roast for stock and 50 pounds of onions are sliced, ready to make Johnson’s favorite French onion soup.

“One little bowl of onion soup takes 20-some hours,” he explains.

So far, the escargot have been one of the brasserie’s best sellers, the duo note, explaining that it’s surprisingly popular among curious kids. The snails are served in their shells, with tongs, the classic French way. When kids realize the dish actually tastes of garlic butter, they’re hooked, Lenhart says with a laugh.

Johnson notes the classic French recipes and service styles are something found throughout the menu.

“I did not take very many creative liberties. I think there’s a lot of French restaurants here that already do take those creative liberties. I just wanted classic. It’s a classic as possible,” he says.

Classic cocktails and creative sips

“The definition of a brasserie is a casual eatery with a large selection of drinks,” Johnson explains. “So we kind of embody that with our cocktail and wine menu.”

That drinks menu focuses on three main areas. There are a selection of coffee drinks to start your morning, cocktails perfect for brunch and a wine list packed with French sips to pair with lunch.

For coffee, Brasserie Melrose uses beans from the local Roastery of Cave Creek. Options include a French Press, which is a fun, interactive setup served with a timer. There are classics, such as café au lait and lattes. Or for something unique, try the Algeria-inspired Mazagran, an iced drink made with espresso, Big Marble Organics sparkling lemonade and fresh mint. 

For a non-caffeinated hot drink, order the hot chocolate, made with Valrhona 70% Guanaja chocolate melted into half and half and topped with whipped cream. 

In the mood for a cocktail instead? The brasserie has plenty of options, made almost entirely with French spirits and liqueurs. Stay classic with a French 75 or a Boulevardier, or shake things up with Lenhart’s favorite Melrose Martini, topped with a Picholine olive and basil-lemon olive oil. 

Johnson encourages curious customers to step outside of their comfort zone with the Pastis Sour, a licorice-scented tipple made with anise liqueur, Izarra Verte herbal liqueur, almond-orange syrup and verjus.

The wine list is filled entirely with French selections ranging from sparkling whites to deep reds from Burgundy and Bordeaux, served by the glass or bottle.

Growing into the space 

In the weeks since they welcomed their first customers, Lenhart and Johnson have been settling into the busy life of restaurant owners. They’ve faced some good problems, such as selling out of their pastries and soups, causing Johnson to rapidly scale up his recipes.

The small space poses other challenges. For example, there is limited parking. The owners encourage customers to use ride share, walk, bike or park in the nearby Park and Ride lot for the light rail. 

“I like to say it goes with the Parisian vibe of the restaurant. You don’t find parking in Paris,” Lenhart jokes.

Inside the tiny kitchen, when the lamination machine that folds layers of butter into the supple croissant dough is set up and in use, it fills the entire back portion of the space.

Another challenge has come from physically combining European and American cultures, in the form of electrical compatibility. At the moment, the team is limited to a smaller convection oven that can fire about 50 pastries an hour. A gargantuan German deck oven takes up precious space in the small kitchen and is currently being used for storage. There has been a struggle connecting it to the right phase of power, but once that beast is up and running, Johnson estimates they’ll be able to fire 250 pastries an hour.

The growing demand is coupled with a growing customer base, which has necessitated the implementation of a reservation system and the addition of a host to manage seating. And those growing pains have slowed the owners’ readiness to add dinner service. 

“Dinner’s proven to be the hard one because I want to make sure our lunch team, our front of house lunch team, is on solid footing,” Lenhart says.

But it’s something the neighborhood is clamoring for, they say. Soon, maybe even in the next two weeks, the owners say, dinner will be served. 

A warm welcome

So far, the brasserie’s reception by the neighborhood has been everything Lenhart and Johnson hoped for. They are starting to see regulars add pastries and coffee to their morning routines. Locals from the neighborhood are biking and walking over. In the early mornings, remote workers stop by and set up with their laptops to enjoy a latte. 

Perhaps one day, the brasserie will expand to other locations. Maybe the owners will open a hotel in Spain. But in the meantime, Lenhart and Johnson are working hard to introduce their dream French all-day destination to the Valley, one croissant and bowl of French onion soup at a time.

Brasserie Melrose

4971 N. Seventh Ave.
7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday