May 10, 2016

Guy Fieri dishes on new smokehouse concept at Fourth Street Live!

View article on BizJournals.com

Food Network star and celebrity chef Guy Fieri didn't need a lot of convincing to open a restaurant in Louisville. He just had to find the right location and the right business partner.

Fieri, the host of "Guy's Big Bite," Guy's Grocery Games" and "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives," all on Food Network, will open Guy Fieri's Smokehouse at Fourth Street Live in downtown Louisville, with a scheduled grand opening date of Sept. 9.

Fieri's new smokehouse concept will take the former Sully's space, which has been hidden behind a (now painted) barricade for months, hinting that something great is on the way.

Fieri briefly discussed the concept during a news conference Tuesday morning, and he walked through the concept in more detail in a closed-door session with reporters at Ulysses "Junior" Bridgeman's Italian restaurant, Birracibo.

Reed Cordish, vice president of Baltimore-based The Cordish Cos., which owns Fourth Street Live, said Cordish Cos. has been working to change the perception at Fourth Street Live by attracting local restaurants and attractions into the center, pointing to the Jim Beam Urban Stillhouse and Birracibo as two local successes.

And while Cordish teased more local eateries in the future at Fourth Street Live, he said Cordish Cos. also wants it to be a showcase for vibrant national and international personalities, such as Fieri.

Fieri said he likes the feel of Louisville for its growing yet established food culture. Fieri, after all, has featured several Louisville chefs on his shows, including Food Network star Damaris Phillips, who was with Fieri Tuesday, and recently Darnell Ferguson of Super Chefs.

Fieri said he considers himself an unofficial spokesman for the Kentucky Derby, having visited the Derby several times and hosted unofficial cooking parties at the Sports & Social Club, which eventually became fundraisers for Kosair Children's Hospital.

Fieri, a California native, owns more than 40 restaurants and said Guy Fieri's Smokehouse won't be a typical barbecue restaurant because it's not really a barbecue restaurant at all.

Yes, Fieri said, the restaurant will have smoked meats and an outdoor smoker, but he teased an eclectic menu that will include freshly made burgers, pork chops, sandwiches and his own take on dishes such as fried chicken, pork rinds and macaroni and cheese. He also have vegan-friendly dishes, such as roasted brussel sprouts tossed with smoked sweet potatoes and other vegetables.

Another dish on the menu, "trash can nachos," will be a different spin on a classic dish.

Fieri described the restaurant's food as "scratch-made," meaning the restaurant's staff will grind its own meat, make its own sauces, make its own drink mixes and even prepare its own pickles.

The restaurant itself is still a work in progress, as we saw during a quick tour. But Fieri let us know he's a stickler for details and enjoys certain elements in his restaurants, including wood, hard metal, industrial ceilings and patent leather, which will be available in abundance in his Louisville restaurant.

The restaurant will have an outdoor patio, an open kitchen design and a bar in the center. It will seat about 250.

Fieri told me he still is working out the details on the size of the staff, but he wants a ratio where wait staff can personalize the dining experience for each table.

He said he is heavily involved in his restaurants, sometimes to the annoyance of his staff. But he wants to make sure everyone is on the same page.

As for price point, he said it will be a mid-tier restaurant, high enough to cover the price of goods but cheap enough that locals can visit weekly and that tourists might stop in multiple times instead of once during a Louisville visit.

"I don't want to be the one big shot," he said, referring to price.

Louisville-based Bravura Corp. is working with Boston-based Neimitz Design Group Inc. to design the restaurant. Neimitz is Fieri's preferred designer, having worked on several previous restaurants for Fieri.

Fieri sometimes has been pigeonholed as a loud guy with weird hair and an affinity for noshing on burgers and pizza during his visits to restaurants across the U.S. on Food Network, but he said he's not an overindulgent glutton as he is sometimes characterized.

For instance, he said, he often snacks on carrots and celery and believes more Americans should put away fast food and processed meals and eat "real food" that's prepared with care and thought and has a deep nutritional value.

That being said, you'll be able to get your feel of smoked and fried comfort foods at his new Louisville joint.

"If you're going to eat something fried, eat something good fried," he said.

Cordish said the hope is that Guy Fieri's Smokehouse will be successful enough that it can expand to other Cordish Cos. developments, possibly in St. Louis and Philadelphia.

Join the Newsletter

Sign up to receive the latest updates and news from The Cordish Companies