• Courtesy Photo
• Kim Kaufman and Jimmy Goldsmith

Humanity has yet to propose a wall separating Mexico and Asia. But if and when that idea goes mainstream (anything can happen, right?), Stowe's forthcoming tequila bar will be ready to hop the barrier. When Over the Wall opens at 2160 Mountain Road in the coming month, its small plates and craft cocktails will build a bridge between the cuisines of those two disparate locales, its owners say.

The restaurant is the latest project from Stowe entrepreneurs Kim Kaufman and Jimmy Goldsmith. Their other food businesses include the Blue Donkey, just a half mile down Mountain Road in Stowe, and Morrisville's 10 Railroad Street and Railroad Café.

While the aforementioned eateries are all casual and family-friendly, Goldsmith said the new spot will channel a polished, grown-up vibe.

With help from Bud Wilson of Waterbury's Wilson Architects, the couple has gut-renovated the former Cactus Café space "down to its 1830 studs," Kaufman said. Many of the finishes, including floors and wainscoting, came from a historic but "unsalvageable" farmhouse on the couple's 500-acre property in Worcester. "Our goal is to create an adult space for people to stop, have a small meal or a drink with friends, go on a date night," Goldsmith told Seven Days. "It's mostly a bar."

Accordingly, longtime Sunset Grille & Tap Room barkeep Otis Helfrich is amassing an extensive collection of tequilas, mezcals and "some nicer Japanese whiskeys," Goldsmith said. He's also working with general manager Steven Foster to compile a specialty cocktail list featuring from-scratch bitters, infused spirits and syrups, Foster noted. And, thanks to Goldsmith and Kaufman's recent purchase of Vermont Natural CBD, Over the Wall customers will have the option of adding tinctures containing CBD — the nonpsychoactive hemp derivative said to relieve anxiety, muscle soreness, epilepsy and more — to their drinks.

In the kitchen, 10 Railroad chef Andy Figliola and head chef Max Vogel (formerly a sous chef at swanky Edson Hill) are taking a similarly hand-hewn approach. While declining to get too specific, Goldsmith and Foster said the fare will combine Mexican and pan-Asian cuisines in large and small ways. Whether that means pork-and-kimchi tacos, carne asada dumplings, or fried wonton nachos, everything will be made in-house, Goldsmith added.

Intrigued? You'll have to wait a few weeks, but Kaufman and Goldsmith plan to open Over the Wall for dinner "by President's Day," with weekend lunches to follow.