Twisted Soul restaurant moves to Arlington Business District

Twisted Soul Food Concepts has moved to Raymond Avenue, where it opened for business last Sunday, April 11.

Twisted Soul, a vendor that sells empanadas and other Latin American and Asian-influenced specialties in the College Center on Tasty Tuesdays, opened at its former Main Street location in 2007. The restaurant has now moved to 47 Raymond Avenue, the space formerly occupied by Griff's Bar.

The restaurant features dishes influenced by street food from around the world, according to co-owner Ira Lee. Its specialties include empanadas, rice and noodle bowls, dumplings and arepas with pulled pork. The new restaurant will also serve tapas on Friday and Saturday nights.

According to Lee, the restaurant strives to "bring in new, exciting things to the people. We love to cook, so the concept is just trying to find little concepts that we can do really good, and people enjoy it."

The new restaurant also serves as a space to display local artwork. Currently on display is art by the faculty and alumnae/i of the Art Institute at Mill Street Loft, a local organization that provides art classes to high school students.

The art is integral to the purpose of the restaurant, according to Lee, who sees his food as another form of art. "We're open to food art; we're open to music art; we're open to artists," he said. "We love art, so any way we can, [we] try to intertwine that and bring it into Twisted Soul. We're very art-friendly."

Vassar Student Association Vice President for Student Life Nate Silver '10 was part of the group of student leaders and administrators that asked Twisted Soul to move into the Raymond Avenue space. The building that houses the new restaurant is one of several College-owned buildings in Arlington, and their move to Raymond Avenue is part of a larger effort on the part of the College to revitalize the area.

"We hope that Twisted Soul is one of a few vendors that...come into that space in preparation for next Fall," said Silver. "But I think Twisted Soul in particular is going to do really well over there. They already have a thriving business with a little distance from Vassar, so I think their proximity will be great, and it's definitely a positive step in the business district."

Lee is also confident that the new Arlington location will be a perfect fit for Twisted Soul. "In our location before on Main Street, it didn't fit the type of food that we were doing," he said. "I think the type of food that we were doing, this ambience, I think it serves this area better."

Lee estimates that about half of Twisted Soul's business comes from Vassar students, faculty and staff, and the Raymond Avenue location should bring even more members of the Vassar community to Twisted Soul. "I hope to bring students off the campus so that I can serve them," said Lee.

Twisted Soul has also been selling food on Vassar's campus for over a year, first as part of the Thursday Alumnae House Farmers' Market, then as part of the Tuesday College Center Farmers' Market, and later as part of the Tasty Tuesdays program, which the Vassar Student Association initiated in Fall 2008. Tasty Tuesdays brings vendors to campus from various local restaurants, including Julie's Restaurant on Raymond Avenue and Soul Dog on Main Street.

A recent Miscellany News article ("Arlington businesses feel pains of construction, economy," 2.25.09) reported that many Arlington businesses are struggling in the current economic recession, facing both fewer customers and customers who buy less when they do come. Despite the difficulty of conducting business in the current economic climate, however, Lee is optimistic about Twisted Soul's future.

"Of course, it's a scare for everyone," he said. "Prices go up for food, but we don't want to bring the prices up for what we sell. I think we're all going to get through it, so, you know, just push positive."

Indeed, Twisted Soul is not the only business slated to open in Arlington in the coming months. A juice bar, called All Shook Up, which will offer smoothies and panini, is opening at 44 Raymond Avenue. Unlike the new Twisted Soul, All Shook Up is not located in a College-owned building, and the College has no role in their opening.

Nonetheless, these are difficult times for businesses both in Arlington and nationwide. Merriweather's, which sells natural soaps and beauty products, closed their LaGrange Avenue store on March 31, though they still operate a store in Rhinebeck and an online business.

Silver said that he is optimistic about the revitalization of Arlington despite economic setbacks. Although one major component of the revitalization, the move of the Bookstore to the Juliet Café building on the corner of Raymond and Collegeview Avenues, has been put on hold because of the College's current financial situation, other efforts have already taken place.

In addition to bringing businesses like Twisted Soul to Arlington, improvements to Arlington have included the construction on Raymond and Collegeview Avenues this summer and fall, as well as the renovation of the façade of the building that houses Twisted Soul as well as Julie's Restaurant and Dollar Tree.

"They're all sort of an effort to improve the business district for the businesses and also to provide venues for Poughkeepsie residents and Vassar students to go and have a good time and get out off campus," said Silver.

Lee and the staff of Twisted Soul hope to become an important part of the Arlington neighborhood and the Vassar community. "We're grateful that we're here," said Lee. "We really think it's such an important opportunity for us. We hope that we'll be able to bring something new to the table, something exciting."

Silver, too, said that Twisted Soul will be a great addition to the neighborhood. "It's really exciting," he said. "They're sort of a favorite of Vassar students. The people that own it are great, and generous, and really, really talented chefs."