Nordhavn-Rustik Is Coming To Evans: What We Know

I love a new-restaurant announcement as much as the next foodie, but I get even more excited when a concept actually fills a gap in the market instead of just copying whatever is hot in Atlanta. That’s what Nordhavn-Rustik looks like for Evans. Picture a Scandinavian-influenced fine dining room on one side and a European bakery-style deli on the other, sharing the same kitchen and opening into a building that looks like it was transported from a clean, modern streetscape in Denmark. Yes, this is real, and yes, it’s happening here, not three exits up the interstate.

The project held a ceremonial groundbreaking in October in Evans, and the team described it as a two-in-one concept. The “Nordhavn” side is fine dining with influences from German, Danish, and Norwegian cuisines, emphasizing seafood but still giving some love to meats like elk or bison. The “Rustik” side is a European bakery-style deli, open in the daytime for breads, pastries, and sandwiches, then shifting into private dining after the bakery closes in the late afternoon. The developers and partners are targeting a mid to late summer opening next year, and the building is planned at roughly six thousand square feet with a Scandinavian design language. The listed site is along Park Town Boulevard near Ponder Place Office Park in Evans, which puts it in the orbit of Evans Towne Center Park, Mullins Colony, and the day-to-day retail corridors a lot of us already use.

The Concept In Plain English

Nordhavn-Rustik is not just one restaurant with a cute partition wall. It’s two experiences calibrated for different moods of the same customer. During the day, Rustik functions like a European bakery-deli, where you can walk in for fresh breads, pastry, sandwiches, and coffee. When that counter winds down in the late afternoon, the space flips to private dining, which is smart because it uses the square footage twice in one day rather than letting it sit empty. Over on the Nordhavn side, you get a more structured dinner service that leans Scandinavian and Northern European with a lot of seafood, plus the occasional wild-game flex if that’s in the final menu. The partner and executive chef described it like the kind of small-town European place that reminds you of your grandparents, but with an open-kitchen connection so you actually feel the craft that’s happening on the line. The Evans groundbreaking coverage made this pretty clear, and the timeline tying construction to a summer 2026 opening gives us all a realistic countdown. 

Where It’s Going And Why The Location Matters

Evans has grown into a choose-your-own-adventure map for food and errands. You’ve got park-day family energy at Evans Towne Center Park, big weekly draws at the Columbia County Performing Arts Center, and that steady everyday pulse along Washington Road and Mullins Colony. Dropping a two-in-one restaurant just off Park Town Boulevard means this won’t be hidden behind a labyrinth of side streets. Locals will find it via routine trips to the park or the Performing Arts Center, and out-of-towners won’t get lost the way they do when Apple Maps decides a rear service road is the front door. The Chamber listing for Nordhavn-Rustik reflects the 406 Town Park Boulevard address, which triangulates the footprint for anyone scouting the area and wondering what else they can stack around dinner, whether that is Evans on Ice in winter or concerts in the park

From a real estate perspective, restaurants like this don’t just serve meals, they change how people use their evenings. When you add another strong dinner anchor to a walkable cluster near a park and venue, you create a reason to stand around and linger, which is a fancy way of saying more spontaneous dessert orders and one more glass of wine. That kind of foot traffic spillover is why you see smart retail planners try to keep a balance of lunch, dinner, and specialty anchors around community amenities. It’s also why getting the concept right matters more than trying to be everything to everyone.

What The Team Has Actually Said

Local coverage from late October quotes partner and executive chef Justin Hayes describing the bakery-turns-private-dining shift in the evenings and positioning the vibe like something you’d find in a small European town that channels your grandparents’ table. Reporting also quotes investing partner Dr. John Bojescul on the fine dining side, saying the menu will be influenced by German, Danish, and Norwegian cuisines, roughly seventy percent seafood and thirty percent meat, with the possibility of wild game like elk or bison. The same reports place construction completion around June with a projected opening in mid to late summer, and peg the building at about six thousand square feet in a Scandinavian style. Groundbreaking coverage and follow-up write-ups all sync on the two-in-one concept and the Evans location near Ponder Place.

If you want to see the ribbon-in-the-dirt photos and quick clips yourself, there are social posts and TV hits from the day of the groundbreaking. Those reinforce the “locally owned” storyline and the Scandinavian architecture angle, which is honestly a breath of fresh air if you’re tired of faux farmhouse everything. 

Why This Is Different For Evans

Plenty of places serve a little of everything and hope something sticks. Nordhavn-Rustik is committing to a lane, and that lane is not common here. Scandinavian-influenced dining does a few things really well that our market could use more of. First, it treats seafood with respect. Not every plate has to be blackened or smothered in a heavy sauce. Clean flavors, cold and hot contrasts, bright acidity that doesn’t punch you in the face, and textures that make sense on a Wednesday night, not just for anniversaries. Second, it introduces breads and baking as prime time players rather than afterthoughts. A bakery-forward deli is exactly the kind of daytime option that can anchor a lunch meeting or a post-soccer-practice treat without defaulting to the same menu every time. If they execute, it will pull its own audience and be a relief valve for the overworked brunch queue.

What I’ll Be Watching Between Now And Opening

Menu previews are the obvious first stop. If they hold to the seventy percent seafood and thirty percent meat balance, then I’m curious which regional seafoods they highlight and how often they change the specials board. I’m also paying attention to the bakery case. If the pastry and bread program is dialed in, daytime sales will carry their own weight long before dinner even starts. And on the operations side, I want to see how they manage that evening shift from bakery to private dining. The quote about the bakery closing around 4:30pm or 5pm and turning into private dining sounds great for creating a second act in the space, but it requires tight transitions so guests don’t feel like they just missed the thing they came for. 

Final Thought Before We All Start Planning Date Night

New restaurants don’t have to be overly complicated to feel special. They have to know who they are and then do that thing without flinching. Nordhavn-Rustik is pitching a very specific identity. If they deliver even seventy percent of what they’re promising, it will be a high-impact addition to the Evans dining map. If they deliver all of it, you’re going to see the bakery box under a lot of arms on Saturdays and a line of folks doing that casual walk-by of the front door on Friday nights just to peek inside before committing. I’ll be one of them. 

Sources and references

• WRDW/WAGT report on the groundbreaking and concept details including bakery hours shifting to private dining and the European-style positioning. https://www.wrdw.com

• The Augusta Press coverage with address near Ponder Place Office Park, two-in-one layout, menu influences, seafood to meat ratio, wild-game possibility, square footage, Scandinavian design notes, and target opening window next summer. The Augusta Press

• Columbia County Chamber listing confirming the location at 406 Town Park Blvd, Evans, GA 30809.