A mysterious slice of prime actual property sits close to the nook of Stone Oak Parkway and Loop 1604. For the previous 16 years, virtually 10,000 sq. toes of economic area has buried the culinary aspirations of tenant after tenant.
Frida Mexican Restaurant & Bar, the latest occupant, shuttered after 4 years in Stone Oak Plaza. CoCo Bongo, its predecessor, lasted a yr. Earlier than that, Buckles & Buns, Drew’s American Grill and Watermark Grill folded after quick runs.
Probably the most profitable tenant, Reggiano’s, closed in 2009 after a memorable 10-year journey in upscale 78258.
On high of this graveyard of eating places comes Katerina, a contemporary American idea with daring ambition: to thrive the place many have failed.
“We’ve expanded the eating area by 30%,” mentioned Katerina co-owner Dick Jones, who plans a gentle opening in late January. “We’ve introduced in high notch cooks, a high-end administration staff and have fully redesigned the inside.”
Jones holds heat reminiscences of Reggiano’s, the previous Italian nightspot turned singles bar. He dined on the patio and imbibed on the bar. He additionally remembers the ideas that adopted: American. Tex-Mex. Sports activities bar. Seafood. Mexican.
“Each time I walked in there after Reggiano’s closed, I nonetheless noticed Reggiano’s,” Jones mentioned. “No person modified the end out. They only moved new furnishings in and by no means created the ambiance that Reggiano’s had.”
He believes his design and management staff will stir nostalgic echoes and create new vibes.
“We’re pushed to deliver again the ambiance that existed with Reggiano’s,” Jones mentioned. “I’m a part of the neighborhood that beloved Reggiano’s and I need to recapture the vitality of that iconic location.”
The mission begins on the grill. Chef Greg Carter has labored in Michelin-starred kitchens with Joel Robuchon, Bobby Flay, Thomas Keller and José Andrés. Justin Manzi is a Culinary Institute of America-trained chef in New York with expertise at The Oceanaire Seafood Room, Morton’s Steakhouse and Pig & Prince Fashionable Gastro Pub.
“The standard of cooks now we have is excellent,” Jones mentioned. “Their background and skills are simply spectacular. I do know as a result of I’ve gained 5 kilos since I met them.”
A scratch kitchen will characteristic woodfire steaks and rustic fashion pizza.
“We’re making our personal breads, butchering our personal meats, making our personal pasta,” Carter mentioned.
The menu features a vary of starters, from wood-roasted Wagyu meatballs to chili crunch calamari, and entrees, corresponding to coriander crusted duck breast, a double minimize pork chop and parisienne gnocchi.
Jones and co-owner Katerina Akimova, for whom the restaurant is called, deliver just about zero expertise to the enterprise. That doesn’t concern them.
“I’m an investor,” mentioned Jones, a former accountant with Ernst & Younger. “Katerina and I imagine one of the simplest ways to run a enterprise is to get actually good folks, empower them and get out of their manner.”
Briefly, the homeowners will delegate. Director of operations Michael Conway, basic supervisor Geoffrey Smith and assistant basic supervisor Emily Dragija will lead.
Conway beforehand labored at Wildfish, Eilan Lodge & Spa and J-Prime Steakhouse. Smith spent greater than a decade at Cowl 3. Dragija labored at since-closed Trudy’s Texas Star in Austin and Cowl 3.
Reinventing a once-treasured area excites Smith. The design staff has eliminated a wall, expanded seating and added an out of doors patio bar. Administration believes completed culinarians will preserve the place buzzing.
“Cooks Greg and Justin have a ardour for the business,” Smith mentioned, “and what’s attainable for a restaurant that has the meals, the service, the atmosphere — all of the components to be nice.”
Jones and his staff are constructing a brand new expertise in Stone Oak, a spot the place they are saying “culinary creativity meets approachable magnificence.”
Katerina could also be an elevated echo of Reggiano’s. Or probably, Jones hopes, one thing even higher.
