Though there are a couple of big food and beverage establishments on the Unity Park horizon in the very near future, perhaps nobody has done more for the Wood Street food and beverage scene in the past few years than entrepreneur and chef Courtney Poissant, owner of the Common Pub, and now, about a half-block down, CP’s Catering & Sandwich Shop, on the site of the former Wood Street Bakery.

Though Poissant has only officially owned the Common Pub since 2019, she’s not new to the neighborhood watering hole — but her touch has transformed what was once regarded as primarily a place to grab a beer and shoot some pool into a legitimate dining destination with a menu that is at once familiar, with a few twists.

“I started at the Common Pub 12 or 13 years ago, just helping my uncle in the family business,” she said. “And I loved it.” So she stayed, and now on any given night — though the bar still sells plenty of beer to their faithful regulars —  the dining room is full of customers enjoying everything from burgers to fish tacos, creamy shrimp Mozambique to pear and gorgonzola salad.

The word caught on, and requests for catering came flooding in. When the Wood Street Bakery location recently became available, Poissant thought it would make a great satellite location, but also fill another need she saw in the neighborhood: a great sandwich shop.

“With the closing of Sam’s Pizza years ago, and then Goglia’s, Wood Street lost some legendary lunch spots,” Poissant said. “We’d like to fill that spot.”

A recent soft opening featured samples of some of her creative offerings, Like a margherita panini on heirloom tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, pesto, and porcini glaze. Other unique sandwiches include the Hot Honey Jamma, grilled chicken tossed in hot honey habanero, with roasted corn salsa, cheddar cheese, and onion straws; and a Chicken Mozambique sandwich with shoestring fries, cheddar cheese and mozzarella. The menu also includes many traditional options like Italian, Meatball, Tuna, and Black Forest Ham.

Most of CP’s catering will happen out of the new location, with a little prep happening in the Common Pub’s larger kitchen. For now, CP’s will be open Thursday through Sunday, though that’s subject to change. “We will start small and grow,” Poissant said. “I think it’s better to add than take away.”

CP’s is not Poissant’s only new venture: she’s also a new mother, to 4-month-old Brooke. She credits some of her otherworldly productivity to her support system. “I have a wonderful manager, Taylor Anderson, at the Common Pub,” she said. “And I have awesome support from Brooke’s father, my friends, and my father, who is retired and helps a lot. Brooke is also a little angel, which makes it easy to balance everything.”

In addition to her business ventures and parenting, Poissant still volunteers for the Bristol Health Equity Zone, running classes on food preparation and nutrition, with no plans to stop. “I’ll keep doing as much as I can,” she said.

And her training? “Trial and error,” she said. “And watching my grandmother and my dad — both great cooks.”