RIVER FALLS – Last week Bold Burgers, located at 106 N. Main St. in River Falls, opened its doors to the community. The new restaurant is currently featuring a limited menu and limited hours before the new year to get started.

The restaurant is housed in the building that most recently was home to Burrito Xpress in downtown River Falls. The space is open once again as a restaurant and gathering place.

Bold is overseen by parent company, Fusion Management. Co-owner Ben Peterson explains what they specialize in.

“We are based out of Eau Claire and we specialize in many things,” Peterson said. “We have a hospitality department that is food service and beverage, we have an events division that does everything from concerts to drag shows and then we have a mar-

See RESTAURANT, Page 12

Bold Burgers opened in River Falls at 106 N. Main St. recently, but plans a grand opening in the new year. Photo courtesy of Ben Peterson RESTAURANT

From Page 1

keting division as well that I run.”

The idea for this parent company began during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

“This was kind of born out of the pandemic; the business started around September of 2020. After other companies had fallen through during the pandemic, a collection of people were looking for an opportunity and they came together to form that company,” said Peterson.

After the restaurant that was previously at 106 N. Main St. closed, Fusion Management was presented with the opportunity to use the property and cultivated the idea of Bold.

The new restaurant will feature a wide variety of food and beverages once their full menu is available. The main food item will be many different variations of burgers.

“We are really looking forward to getting to our full menu with a wide variety of unique takes on classic burgers and new burgers and not just burgers, but appetizers and drinks too,” said Peterson.

After getting their feet on the ground and establishing a strong sense of place in River Falls, they hope to host a grand opening in upcoming months.

“Our focus for now is being new to town and we want to start slow with our limited menu and limited hours and getting our staff fully on board with the vision and listening to our staff and hearing what their vision is and we want everyone that is a part of our team to be proud of that, but we will be planning a grand opening for early next year,” Peterson promised.

Although Fusion Management has leadership roles overseeing Bold, the team works together to make its projects happen.

“We are a small team still, so everyone kind of has a hand in everything that we do, but one person I have to mention that has been a huge rockstar in the Bold project is one of our operations managers, Rebecca Heik,” Peterson said. “She has been an absolute star for us leading the Bold project.”

Aside from the new food options, Bold will feature another unique aspect called “Club Bold,” with a dance floor located in the back of the restaurant. They want to utilize the space and welcome people on certain days to use the space.

“We have the full dance club in the back and who doesn’t like to dance? So that was intriguing when we were first looking for a restaurant. We never thought about a club space and dancing but it really fits in that space so we want to further establish ‘Club Bold’ more in the future,” said Peterson.

Peterson and the rest of the Fusion Management team are excited to see Bold come to their full vision.

“We say it on our hiring application and it may sound cliche but we are looking for ‘Bold’ people to be on our team and that is what we are looking for. We want people who are looking to make a mark and we want this place to be unique and something that stands out and we can’t do that without the people on our team” Peterson said.

After being open for a few weeks, Peterson wants to thank the community for being so welcoming; he’s excited to become more a part of the community with Bold.

“We have been very appreciative of the warm welcome and the community has been so awesome and understanding with our limited menu and hours, and we have been very blessed with a really fantastic start and we are really happy to be a part of this community,” he said.

To learn more about Bold Burgers, visit boldrf. com and follow them on social media at Bold Bar and Grill.