Bonjour, Marché! Sup, Substantial.

Zut alors!

The bar is well-stocked, of course.

The new dining room is sans tablecloths.

But don't worry, the wine wall rack is still there.

The women's restroom still only has one stall, ladies. The new paint color plus the lighting turned all the way up is really bright.

The women's restroom also has this lovely knit swimsuit on the wall.

Sommelier Cyril Frechier sabres a bottle of cremant.

Kids, don't try this at home.

Voila!

Meanwhile, Substantial's opening party had PUNCH.

This one has blood orange.

The best desk in the office belongs to the admin. Behold, Substantial's wall of vinyl.

PausePlayPlayPrev|Next

Campagne is dead, long live Marché. Though it was open on the QT all last week, Friday night marked the grand opening of chef (and now owner) Daisley Gordon’s Marché, which means “market” in French, rube. (Of course there is a Facebook
page and a Twitter.)

Marché’s grand opening promised sabered bottles of cremant and hors d’oeuvres on the patio, and they were not kidding. Trays upon trays of crostini with a choice of blood sausage, chevre and veggies, or pork shoulder with mustard butter (oh yeah). Every time you turned around, someone was filling your glass or offering you more food. Not a bad way to applaud the new beginning.

Compared to the Campagne of old, Marché is less Frenchy and more casual (there’s a burger on the menu). They describe themselves as a “bistro & wine bar,” which hints at the coziness of the space. Marché is open for dinner seven days a week, 4:30 p.m.-11 p.m. The bar is open until midnight. Gordon’s other restaurant, located downstairs, is the always popular Café Campagne, which continues to serve its classic French breakfast, lunch, and dinner menu.

Meanwhile, back on the Hill, music-minded web and design firm Substantial has been in their new digs overlooking Cal Anderson Park since this summer, but their grand opening party for friends, family, and the neighborhood was also Friday night. No sabred cremant at this affair, but there were several bowls of punch. “What’s in that one?” Who cares? It’s got cucumbers floating in it and smells of St. Germain–no further information necessary.

In the middle of the office space sits Substantial’s webcam photo booth, which had a steady stream of frolickers taking fun shots over the course of the night–automatically sent to their email/twitter, of course. And yes, there were appetizers too, but it’s so hard to go from blood sausage on crostini to hummus on a limp piece of pita bread.