Running the Mystic Oyster Club, the two-year-old upscale restaurant on Water Street that has received rave reviews and awards, wasn't enough for co-owner Daniel Meiser and executive chef James Wayman.

On New Year's Eve, the two men opened the Engine Room restaurant in the former Holmes Street space that over the past two decades housed The Riverwalk and before that, Trader Jack's.

The transformation of the 120-seat restaurant, which also has 30 outdoor seats, has been shocking to many who see the inside for the first time. Another change is the menu, which bills itself as featuring "beer, burgers, and bourbon." It offers American comfort food with a southern flair, and like the Mystic Oyster Club, uses locally sourced food.

"It's been fun to see people's reaction when they walk in and then talking to them about their experience here," Meiser said. "That's why I do this."

Crowds have flocked to the restaurant with 600 people in on one recent Saturday night, according to Wayman.

So much for Meiser and Wayman's plan to open in January and slowly bring the restaurant up to speed for the busy summer season.

"It been out of control since we opened," said Meiser. "Because of the success of the oyster club we had the benefit of having some instant credibility. But never in a million years did we expect this."

Beginning in October, crews from Field and Co., a Mystic design and build firm, gutted the interior of the building, pulled up the carpet and began polishing the cement floor which once was part of an auto dealership.

The industrial design, which includes reclaimed wood from a Warwick, R.I. bicycle factory for the walls, exposed beams, pipes and brick, is meant to evoke the feel of the former J.W. Lathrop and Co., which made marine engines in the building during the early 20th century. One of the company's engines, on loan from the collection of Mystic Seaport, will soon hang on the wall. Next to the open kitchen is a floor-to-ceiling wood mural that explains the history of the Lathrop company.

A large drill press from the Thavenet Machine Co. in Pawcatuck is the centerpiece of the bar with taps for an ever-changing selection of 16 beers surrounding it. A glass case displaying the amber-colored bottles of bourbon divide the bar and dining areas.

In addition to tables, the dining area also features 18 bar seats that face the open kitchen allowing customers to watch their food being prepared just a few feet away.

As for why they would open a new restaurant while still running an incredibly successful one named as the state's best upscale restaurant by the Connecticut Restaurant Association, Meiser said "this is what we do."

He said he and Wayman had been discussing the idea behind the Engine Room for a while and passed on a downtown Mystic space last summer because the timing was not right.

As they do at the Mystic Oyster Club, Wayman said they are committed to a basic philosophy of cooking with locally produced food, which allows them to not only know where the food comes from but to build relationships with the families who produce it.

"The best food comes the shortest distance," he said.

"All our food has a story which is neat," added Meiser. "It doesn't come out of a plastic bag."

For example, the restaurant buys entire grass-fed cows from the Beriah Lewis Farm in North Stonington, which it then turns into hamburger.

Meiser said they produce an old-fashioned depth of flavor that customers say they have not tasted in many years.

Corn meal for the corn bread comes from the centuries-old Davis Farm in Pawcatuck, squid from Point Judith, R.I. and vegetables from Hunts Brook Farm in Waterford.

Breads are made at Farm to Hearth bakery in East Haddam, while Wayman slow-cooks large slabs of pork to make bacon.

"Everyone knows we have the freshest seafood in the world around here but we also have some of the finest farms in the world as well," Meiser said.

As for the bourbon, Wayman said it has been attracting increased attention over the past five years. He said the liquor is the "wonderful product that complements what we do here."

"There's nothing more American than a burger. The same is true of bourbon. Every country makes whiskey but bourbon can only come from Kentucky," Meiser said.

He added that there is nothing more uniquely American than southern food, something that Wayman particularly enjoys preparing.

Meiser said that while customers from the Mystic Oyster Club have come in, "We're seeing a lot of faces we've never seen before," including families.

He and Wayman added that may be because the Engine Room offers lower prices and a more casual atmosphere.

"This has opened us up to a whole new demographic," Wayman said.

Despite their busy schedule of now running two restaurants, Meiser and Wayman have additional plans.

They are currently renovating the first floor and basement of the former Emporium building next to the Mystic Oyster Club. This spring they plan to open a butcher shop on the first floor, so customers can buy the same quality meat as they use in their restaurants. They also plan to make their own sausage and ham.

In the basement will be a 20-seat wine bar which Meiser said will be like a candlelit cave with stone walls.

They then plan to take a break from opening new businesses.

J.WOJTAS@THEDAY.COM