GENEVA – After more than three months of trying to get customers to say Eñye, owners Bob and Jeanette Di Pasquantonio gave up and changed the restaurant's name to Table 38.
The re-dubbed eatery at 330 W. State St. in Geneva offers some of its previous menu items, but also traditional American food, Bob Di Pasquantonio said.
"We changed the name because we couldn't get people to pronounce the name, and we realized that people, in general, like to eat things they know," Bob Di Pasquantonio said. "And they did not know plantains and rice and beans. They did not crave them during the week. So we brought in American food."
The former name, Eñye, came from the Spanish alphabet, to signal its Latin American fare, he said. It featured cuisine from Peru, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Argentina, Venezuela, Spain and a little bit of Mexico in a two- to three-week rotation.
Di Pasquantonio said about 60 percent of the previous menu was kept, and hamburgers, pot pies, fried chicken, meatloaf, steak and seafood were added.
"People said they would come back for a special occasion," Bob Di Pasquantonio said. "We had to get people in during the week."
Table 38 is in the building that formerly was Isabella's and then briefly Citizen Kane. It is the couple's second foray into owning and running restaurants. The Di Pasquantonios also own Urban Grille, 524 W. State St., which is two blocks away from Table 38.
In addition to the menu and name change, Bob Di Pasquantonio said the dining room has been painted a darker color and will be changing the art to make it more homey.