Daniel Lindley, chef and owner of St. John's Restaurant and St. John's Meeting Place, on Friday announced plans to launch a third downtown restaurant that will be in the revitalized Main Street area.
Alleia will be an Italian-inspired restaurant serving inventive antipasti, house made pasta and individual pizzas baked in a wood burning oven.
The restaurant will occupy more than 6,000 square feet on the ground floor of the Harrington Building, currently being renovated to carve a restaurant into the former furniture showroom.
Design plans will be led by Rodney Simmons of Revival Studio (who led the recent redesign of St. John's Restaurant) and will feature a 40-foot community table as well as smaller tables, semi-private booths, and a simple décor that will incorporate existing elements of brick and plaster into a modern, inviting design.
"The addition of a restaurant owned and operated by Chef Lindley to the momentum on Main Street is very welcome," said Jeff Cannon of the RiverCity Company. "Not only does his work represent the best and brightest of what is happening on the Chattanooga culinary scene, his core values are the same as those of the growing neighborhood. When Chef Lindley talks about food, he speaks of integrity of ingredients, the importance of buying from local sources, and the Slow Food movement that he supports. Substitute 'neighborhood' or 'people' for the words about food, and you can see that Alleia will be right in line with the good things happening on Main Street."
Alleia is slated to open early in 2008.
Mr. Lindley will be joined by Marc Denis, currently of St. John's Restaurant, as general manager and partner, and Tyler Stewart, also currently of St. John's Restaurant, as chef de cuisine.
Chef Lindley said he has been drawn to Main Street for years as an excellent location for a third venture. When he began to formulate what his next restaurant would feature, he said he also found himself also drawn to pizza.
"Any chef or artist will connect with a particular style, no matter what their origin," said Mr. Lindley. "My inherent style and passions have always been for finding the best raw ingredients, then letting that integrity shine. For me, Italian food captures these same passions and priorities."
Pizza at Alleia will be thin crust, Italian style, individual pizzas. Fired in the 14-foot-tall, custom built wood burning oven, these pizzas will range from traditional margherita to combinations that are unique to Alleia's menu, it was stated.
Officials said, "The menu, however, will offer much more than pizza. Large bowls of simple but luxurious pasta will be made in house daily, complemented by antipasti exploding with bold flavors, main courses chargrilled in the open kitchen, and a long list of cocktails and Italian wines at the bar. Dessert will center around gelato - the authentic Italian answer to ice cream - which is thick and rich, more cream than ice."
Mr. Lindley said, "We want people to be fed physically, socially and visually at Alleia. When diners walk into the restaurant, they will be transported to a world of warm, sensory pleasure.
"The menu will feel familiar and casual, and the quality of what we serve will be so good that we will not need to fabricate complex flavors. At the same time, the cost will be accessible to Chattanoogans out for dinner on a weeknight or weekend."