“I started in Clayton in 1994, and I’m going back to Clayton,” says restaurateur Mike Del Pietro, who recently signed a lease for the former Remy’s Kitchen & Wine Bar space, at 222 S. Bemiston. Owned by industry vet Tim Mallett, Remy’s closed after New Year’s Eve, after almost 23 years in business.
Del Pietro began at Portabella, the storied restaurant at 15 N. Central that he opened in 1994 with his brother, sister, and two cousins. It closed in 2011, after an 18-year run. In 2008, Del Pietro went on a building spree, opening nearly a dozen Italian restaurants in a decade, among them multiple Sugo’s and Babbo’s locations, Tavolo V, Via Vino Enotica, and, most recently, a revival of his parent’s namesake restaurant.
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To prevent cannibalizing his other nearby restaurants, Del Pietro is switching things up in Clayton. “It’ll still be Italian,” he says, “but different Italian.” The restaurant will serve Southern Italian, Sicilian, and Mediterranean fare, rather than strictly Northern Italian dishes. “No big bricks of lasagna or even the Del Pietro’s Salad,” he says of the staples at his other restaurants.
Expect smaller portions, with an emphasis on lighter pastas, grilling, marinating, and pickling. “Don’t expect heavy cream sauces or dishes like polenta,” he says. “I probably won’t even do pizza.”
The interior will remain unchanged from Remy’s except for the entryway, front façade, and patio. “The bar was the most appealing part of the place, and I don’t want that to change,” says Del Pietro, adding that he felt the patio was underutilized. “The new restaurant will blend into the patio. Before, it was just a few tables corralled onto the sidewalk.”
The renovation is expected to take 90 days, which means Del Pietro is hoping for a fall opening. “Clayton is on fire,” he says. “I saw it go up and then down. Take a look around—it’s up again.”
