A week ago, there was a monument sign near the corner of Lindbergh and Conway Road that read "Old Blue Eyes," and it appeared the opening of Mike Faille's long-awaited Italian restaurant, an homage to Frank Sinatra, was imminent. So when that sign came down a few days ago, a red flag went up.
Relish has learned that attorneys for the estate of Frank Sinatra have issued a cease and desist order requesting that Faille remove the sign and any unauthorized use of Sinatra's name and images.
And so the restaurant now has a new name: the Frontenac Grill.
Both Faille and Exec Chef/GM Andrew Ladlie (who has been on board since June) confirm that although the name change will obviously affect the overlying theme of the restaurant, it will not affect the theme of the food. The Grill will be a steakhouse with Italian overtones, plus versions of Talayna's famous pizza (Faille was the founder of the local pizza chain).
Veteran local chef David Timney is the Chef de Cuisine. Timney most recently manned the stoves at Mangia Italiano, but many patrons of the Grill's target market will remember him from Kreis' Restaurant (just up the street) and his long stint as Exec Chef at the original Balaban's in the CWE.
Snafus have seemingly plagued this restaurant since construction began several years ago, the most recent of which was a delay in the issuance of a liquor license at a City of Frontenac hearing on August 16. A special hearing has now been scheduled for October 18. Barring any more delays, the restaurant could open soon after that, as the 140-seat restaurant is otherwise fully-stocked and equipped and the staff is in training.
Relish has been anticipating the opening of this restaurant for months and months. Now we're pulling for Halloween, a good day to shed any demons and goblins.
