New restaurant coming to the Georgetown, Texas square
June 12, 2009 at 7:27 am , by Jenel Looney
My brother and his wife are visiting this week. They live in Germany, and my sister-in-law is German, so my husband and I took them for lunch at the Monument Cafe for some good made-from-scratch American cooking. (The Monument has the best biscuits on the planet.) We ate too much and decided to walk off a little of the overeating by strolling around the square. We noticed that three people were inside the Masonic Lodge at 7th and Main, where Romeo’s used to be. The people had tools and notebooks and looks of determination. Exciting!
A few steps later, we bumped into Chris Damon, who owns that building as well as local marketing powerhouse, GX Creative. Chris spoke fluent German, much to my sister-in-law’s delight, who has been in the States for a few weeks visiting a family who drifted away from our German heritage generations ago. Then, in English, he shared a few details of the restaurant with me.
The restaurant will feature northern Italian cuisine, with cream sauces, rice dishes. (I’ll take this opportunity to put in a plug for gnocchi.)
The family who is starting the new restaurant made a name for themselves in Connecticut as restaurateurs. I’m afraid I didn’t have a notebook with me on our stroll, so I’ve forgotten some of the details. Such as the name. I’m drawing a complete blank on the name. (Anyone who knows, please feel free to post a comment.) When I heard about the northern Italian cuisine, my mind was buzzing with thoughts of food. Even though I had just eaten too much at the Monument. What can I say, I’m a foodie. I do remember that Chris said the restaurant will open as soon as the TABC gives them their liquor license or in September, whichever comes first. They will be a wonderful addition to Downtown Georgetown.
By the way, if you’re looking for a job, I found their ad on Craigslist, looking for restaurant help.
Chris is still looking for tenants for the second floor space at this location. He mentioned that he would love to get a quiet lounge-type tapa bar in that location. If you’re interested, you can contact Chris through GX Creative.
Category Georgetown Restaurants / Tags: /
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by Trtallman
On June 12, 2009 at 10:21 am
Jenel,
I have had the pleasure of meeting the new propreitor of the new restaurant. His name is Jocko Saltus and he said the working name is currently Amante’s on the Square (always subject to change until the sign goes up). He showed us around inside, and he has begun remodeling the interior. He has applied to get a permit to add a bar downstairs (where the booths used to be on the right as you enter) and have seating for up to 75 folks. He is very personable and will be a wonderful host to guests. He said he expects to oen in about 8 weeks, as he has removed much of the old kitchen and is updating and installing new equipment, redecorating, etc. We are anxious to try it and are very excited as well to welcome him and the restaurant to downtown. Thanks for posting the information about it!
Trisha
by Jenel Looney
On June 15, 2009 at 6:38 am
Thanks, Trisha! I also just received this email from the family:
Sounds wonderful to me. Amante’s is a great name for a restaurant. I have limited Italian, but I would guess that means “lovers.” … I just looked it up in an Italian/English dictionary, and I was right. And I am una amante della cuisina italiana.
by Nick Ramos
On June 17, 2009 at 11:18 am
Howdy! Amante’s does mean lover or lovers, depending if it’s singular or plural. I am not sure if they use apostrophe in Italian, It also means the same thing in Portuguese and Spanish… There’s never enough love to go around!
by Wild Type Sara
On August 10, 2009 at 8:02 pm
YES, they are featuring local! I met Jocko earlier this summer. He and the other proprietor’s are serious about local sourcing and about quality. They will be featuring our the best of our local pasture-raised Angus beef, and very likely our pastured (European style) veal.
Last I heard, they should be open by September 1!
by Jenel Looney
On August 10, 2009 at 8:04 pm
Thanks for the comment, Sara. Love that they’re featuring local!
I have more news. I ran into Jocko at the First Friday this past weekend, and I asked him if they were going to be dog friendly. He said absolutely! They’re going to have outdoor seating along Main and along 7th, and well-behaved dogs will be welcome. Yay! Now, if I could just train my dog to be well-behaved.
by Sandra
On September 9, 2009 at 6:50 pm
You should come and try out Carmine’s Italian Resaurant that is located at 3010 Williams Drive #118. 512-240-4981.He serve a more Southern Italian cuisine.Maybe we can have Carmine and Jocko have a Italian cookoff ( a throw down) when Jocko opens.
by Jenel Looney
On September 9, 2009 at 7:05 pm
I would love to go to an Italian cook-off. My husband and brother-in-law ate at Carmine’s recently and loved it. They gave it a big thumbs up!