“New restaurant seeks city approval”

Posted: 27 Nov 2010 11:37 PM PST

Southlake residents could have a new dining choice in the near future. A family-style Italian restaurant � located at the corner of State Highway 114 and State Street � is in the planning stages and could have final approval before the end of the year.

�This is not a franchise restaurant, and is not a cookie cutter restaurant,� said Turner Duncan, a partner with Design Duncan Miller Ullmann, the firm designing the restaurant. �What we have is a contemporary Italian restaurant where the food is not heavily Italian, but is something like you would find in Sonoma, Calif. The architecture is also going to be similar to what you would find in Sonoma. The menu is not totally established, but it will be priced for the community and family. It is going to be a casual dining experience.�

The yet-to-be-named restaurant is 8,200-square-feet, will seat about 211 people, have about 82 employees and cost $4.5 million.

�We were limited on the building footprint so we went with a two-story building,� said Scott Dorn, director of technical services with the design team. �The building will feature a dining room and bar downstairs, as well as a more intimate dining lounge and bar upstairs. One of the most exciting features is a spiral staircase inside a glass tower. The restaurant will also have a private wine room and a room that can be rented out.�

Dorn said the restaurant also will have covered patios on both levels and will be heated and can be used year-round. He said its location calls for the building to be designed so that it has no �back� and will look nice from all four sides.

According to Dorn, the look of the building will blend Texas and Italy.

�We want the restaurant to look Italian, but we have a fresh take on it,� he said. �In the design, we used native Texas stones and woods to add detail and accentuate the design elements. We took our inspiration from the Nasher Sculpture Garden, Kimbell Art Museum and Highland Park Village.�

In addition to building the restaurant, the developers will extend State Street from behind the Department of Public Safety Building to State Highway 114.

�The signage and look of Town Center and State Street is unique and distinctive,� Dorn said. �We will continue to have the same signs and look of Town Center. The State Street extension should be seamless. We are also building sidewalks � one that will connect with the DPS building and one along Highway 114.�

The designers of the Southlake restaurant also designed Nicola's Ristorante Italiana at the Shops at Legacy in Plano.

The Southlake project is set to go before planning and zoning Nov. 18 and if there are no delays, city council Dec. 7.

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