The exercise of finding a sense of identity is an interesting one.
somewhere between specific and nebulous, trying to find and communicate a definitive set of qualities, traits, and beliefs. But challenging as this exercise may be, that’s exactly what we’ve been focused on across the past several months here at The Aperture. After the dust settled from the frenetic and exciting several months following being recognized by the James Beard Foundation in January, we gradually found the time and opportunity to ask ourselves simple, but meaningful and reflective questions about what The Aperture is, and what it could be. And more importantly, the exciting work ahead to ensure that those questions turn into answers.
As we approach the 18-month milestone, the primary vision has endured - to create meaningful experiences and human connection through intentional, balanced, and focused hospitality. We’d like to think we’ve hit that mark, but it’s only through our team, guests, friends, and partners that we’ve been able to do so. And for that, we are grateful beyond measure.
Miles To Go,
JAB
The Aperture is significantly (and perhaps solely) driven and shaped by the people that put in the work to make it happen, every day; those that drive the pursuit of finding our identity. With that in mind, we are excited to introduce two new members of our leadership team.
Kyla Mains | General Manager + Wine Director
Kyla joined The Aperture in February 2025 in the role of Hospitality Director and, following the departure of our previous General Manager - Hannah Riffe - was the clear and obvious choice to take over the role. Kyla brings a wealth of experience, having served as the General Manager of Baker’s Table in Newport, KY, and most recently as a Lead Server at the revered Boca in downtown Cincinnati. In addition to her innate and intuitive sense of hospitality, Kyla is a poised and natural leader that seeks to bring out the best in all those around her. Kyla also has a deep passion for wine, pursuing as much knowledge as possible, and sharing her passion and education with our team, making her dual role as Wine Director a natural one. As she settles into her role, Kyla will be heavily focused on our service program, staff training and education, and curating the next stages of our wine program. From there, however, the sky is the limit - we’re grateful and excited to have Kyla here at The Aperture.
Scotty Roberson | Chef de Cuisine
Scotty originally joined The Aperture in February 2024, shortly after our opening, and departed for a brief period of time in August 2024 to explore another opportunity. However, his presence was always felt even after departing - and in some ways, it felt like he never left. This made him the natural and obvious choice for the role of Chef de Cuisine. Scotty has
spent time in many kitchens, most notably at Losanti in Over-The-Rhine, Cincinnati, and 20 Brix in Milford, Ohio. Scotty is a highly talented, creative, and driven chef that pursues the highest standards for himself, and all those around him. His natural sense of leadership is quiet and poised, making him the ultimate manifestation of “leading by example.” As a chef, Scotty embodies our culinary goal of building through complexity and focus behind the scenes, while preserving our goal of creating dishes that are simple, approachable, and somewhat nostalgic. In his role as Chef de Cuisine, Scotty leads the day-to-day operations of the kitchen, works with our front-of-house leadership to ensure menu education, and the overall creative direction of the culinary program. He will increasingly shape our culinary identity, and it’s hard to imagine anyone else better positioned to do so.
Summer Menu Preview | Identity
We’re slowly but surely settling into our identity - but we’ve come to realize a few undeniable things. And particularly as summer approaches, our menu here at The Aperture will be (and perhaps has always been), primarily focused on coastal influences, along with our reverence for seasonal and local produce, preservation techniques such as pickling and fermentation and, of course, wood-fired cooking by way of our hearth, which is the focal point of the kitchen - and in many respects, the restaurant itself.
The warmer months ahead present the opportunity to dial into these areas of focus, given the fresh produce from our local farms, the warmer weather yielding a desire for lighter seafood dishes, and utilizing the abundance of the season to pickle, preserve, and ferment for the future. We’re excited for the next direction for our menu, which will feature some smaller-bite dishes, a host of new pastas, lots of seasonal produce, and larger format dishes such as whole branzino and roast duck. We’ll be fully launching our new menu format, along with a host of new dishes, shortly after July 4th - so stay tuned, and we’ll see you then.
One of Chef’s favorite food memories was the first time he tasted true Texas BBQ somewhere outside of Austin, Texas. On the heels of that memory (a distant one, given that he’s getting old), we’ve decided to take a break from our normal menu during the entire week of the July 4th holiday to do a special BBQ “pop-up.”
We’re working on finalizing the menu, we’ll be featuring all the hits (and more) - brisket, pork ribs, smoked chicken wings, pimento cheese, potato salad, banana cream pie, and all the sauces your heart desires. And we may or may not be working on a lamb “smashburger.” We’re excited to announce the menu shortly, but in the meantime we’d encourage you to reserve a spot for you and yours - whatever day your heart desires.
Tickets are $50 per guest. The ticket includes a choice of 3 of our 5 offered proteins, 3 of our 6 classic BBQ sides & of course, Texas Toast. We'll have some additional proteins and sides available a la carte - as BBQ should be; you might even see a lamb burger or proper fried chicken. Time will tell. The menu will be released in short order - we’re excited for this one, and we suspect you are too.