Becker’s Bridal is a bridal shop that’s been in Fowler since 1934. Two years ago their dress shop for mothers caught fire, and the building had to be demolished. But, from the ashes rose a Phoenix.
The Phoenix Room, that is, a new bar and restaurant.
"We needed more rooms down below, so we incorporated, like, five semi-private suites for trying on dresses – which are really lush – and then the intent was that they could come up afterwards and have a celebratory lounge – the first of its kind,” said Michelle Mueller, fifth-generation owner of Becker's Bridal.
The addition opened in November, just before indoor dining shut down.
"But it gave us extra time to tweak some different things—different ideas on dessert platters and what we wanted to change with the menu, too, so that was kind of a blessing, actually,” Mueller said.
Since reopening on Feb. 1, Mueller said, they are at their 20 percent capacity – which is 20 people – "all day long."
"So when they’re finished with their appointments downstairs, which run every two hours, then they come up here, then it clears out, then the next bridal appointment happens and then that group comes up…in sessions, basically," she said.
Though the pandemic has caused couples to downsize or postpone weddings and, in some cases, to postpone them again, “what we noticed – the part that they do want with the wedding, even if they have to cut down on everything else or quick have it in their backyard or what not and forego the venue – they still want their dress. Because, then, what they’re going to have, really – and it’s always important – is their photos,” Mueller said.
The addition actually serves a practical purpose because, she said.
"For years, brides’ families have always been – they get hungry, afterwards, right?"she said. "Because they’re here a couple hours – like I said they want to sit, they want to talk before they disperse in their different vehicles and leave, and they’re always asking us the million-dollar question, ‘Where can we go for lunch?’”
The menu includes champagne, salads, cheeses flown in from Amsterdam and England, homemade chicken croissants, turkey-apple paninis and what Mueller describes as “really lavish” dessert boards and charcuterie boards.
So, can you come here if you aren't dress shopping? There are a few different answers.
While “it’s designed to specifically be for our brides, solely, during the weekdays," Mueller says that for those of us who just want to use the area for an afternoon or evening out, reservations can be made ahead of time for $30 a table for a group of up to four.
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