Although there seems to be a Gianino family restaurant in practically every neighborhood (there are currently eight), there hasn’t been one in Clayton—until now.
Tony Gianino (Billy G’s younger brother) and Joey Barczewski (the Joey of Joey B’s) recently inked a lease at 7641Wydown, the former Manhattan Express, a teeny, tree-obscured pick-up and delivery joint west of Bar Les Frères and east of Starbucks. Bob Kramer opened the restaurant in 1993 to complement his flagship Cafe Manhattan, located on Hanley Road half a block away. The restaurant has had two additional owners in the past several years.
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Barczewski and Gianino are longtime friends who became business partners when they opened the first Joey B’s, Joey B’s on the Hill (2524 Hampton), in 2004. They stumbled on the Manhattan Express location by accident.
“Tony was online looking for some catering equipment,” Barczewski recalled, “and only then discovered that the business was for sale as well.”
Since there are only 12 seats and a patio, most of the business will be “out the door”—that is, pick-up and delivery. The corner of Hanley and Wydown is a stone’s throw from downtown Clayton and on the edge of the densely populated Moorlands neighborhood. Other area restaurants include Zoe Robinson’s restaurants (Bar Les Frères, I Fratellini, and soon-to-open Billie-Jean), Peppe Kehm’s Peno, Protzel’s Deli, and Starbucks.
“There is a ton of action on that corner,” Barczewski says, “and our space is somewhat hidden. One of our tasks will be catching the attention of the drive-bys and walker-bys.”
The concept, name, level of sophistication, and menu mix are still in the planning stages, but the restaurant will definitely be “Italian in flavor,” he says, and should open before year’s end.
