The North Tuscaloosa building that housed a Heritage House coffee shop until September will become an Italian restaurant and steakhouse, one of the project’s partners said Monday, with a target opening early next year.
Ronnie Gashi, who operates five Italian restaurants in Mississippi, said in a Monday call he and his partners are aiming to open Ammalia Ristorante on Rice Mine Road sometime in January or February.
The group bought the building outright after a search that began more than two years ago as a hunt for a small lease space. Neal DiChiara, the commercial real estate agent who announced the deal, said the clients kept looking until the right property came along.
“We stayed connected, explored different possibilities, and eventually shifted the search from leasing to purchasing,” DiChiara wrote. “That patience paid off. This property offered the building, location, and potential that perfectly aligned with their vision.”
(Stephen Dethrage | Tuscaloosa Thread)(Stephen Dethrage | Tuscaloosa Thread)Steaks and Southern Italian Cuisine
Gashi said plans for the new North Tuscaloosa restaurant are still preliminary and his group of entrepreneurs want to maintain some mystery around what’s coming, but teased that the menu will lean toward one region of Italy.
“It will be mostly Southern Italian cuisine, mixed together with a steakhouse concept as well,” he said in a call faciliated by DiChiara’s partner, Richard Harwood. “As for now, that will be we say.”
That means patrons can likely expect the more Mediterranean side of Italian dishes, with most dishes prepared with extra-virgin olive oil instead of the more butter-heavy dishes of the north.
Five Mississippi Cities, Similar Execution
Gashi is not new to the business – he told the Thread that he and his cousin Florian Imeri operate Italian restaurants in Oxford, Tupelo, Brandon, Clinton and Columbus, Mississippi, with Imeri serving as executive chef across the group.
He said the restaurants share the same DNA when it comes to their menus and decor, but most bear their own name. In Oxford and Brandon, they’re “Amore,” but “Roma” in Clinton, “Casa D’Italia” in Tupelo and “Amata” in Columbus, the newest of the five.
Gashi said the partners plan to say more about the North Tuscaloosa concept as the project advances.
Heritage House Coffee & Tea closed its North River shop in the building in mid-December after announcing the decision on social media earlier that month.
“It is with mixed emotions that we announce our final day of business at our North River location,” the company said in the announcement. “Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all the support, laughter, and memories shared at this shop over the years.”
Heritage House continues to operate its Riverfront location on Jack Warner Parkway in downtown Tuscaloosa and its Town Center shop off McFarland Boulevard in north Tuscaloosa, both with full kitchen service.
For more exclusive coverage of restaurants and retail in West Alabama, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.
Fatal Robbery Attempt, Jail Death Top Tuscaloosa Headlines This Week (10/5 – 10/12)
Gallery Credit: (Stephen Dethrage | Tuscaloosa Thread)
