Longtime Birmingham restaurateur opening Italian restaurant and market
Article written by Bob Carlton of AL.com
Nick Pihakis strolls through the dining room of the Pihakis Restaurant Group’s soon-to-open Luca Lagotto restaurant and ventures into the kitchen, where cooks will prepare made-from-scratch pizzas in ovens imported from Italy.
Then, he wanders toward the front of the building and into what will be the market, Luca Mercato Lagotto, where customers will be able to drop in and pick up imported and domestic wines, cured meats, tinned fish, cheeses and olive oils, as well as house-made sauces and pastas.
Later, Pihakis walks out into the adjoining courtyard, an inviting space where guests will drink and dine among the olive trees.
The Italian restaurant and market, which is scheduled to open Feb. 20 in downtown Homewood, is a concept inspired by an extended trip to Greece and Italy that members of the Pihakis restaurant family took in October 2022.
The Pihakis Restaurant Group worked with Michael Shows and Will Hall of Montgomery-based Chambless King Architects to design the space, which blends traditional Italian elements with a few modern touches.
“Both of them have been such fun to collaborate with,” Angie Mosier, the Pihakis Restaurant Group’s creative director, says. “Once we got back from Italy, we dumped all these photos on them and tried to explain what struck us. And they got it.”
Birmingham-based Alabama Sawyer, which makes handcrafted furniture out of wood repurposed from fallen trees, built the tables, booths and banquettes for the dining room, and another Birmingham company, Elegant Earth, made the planters and stone tables for the courtyard.
The restaurant will seat 129 guests inside and another 60 outside.