A popular St. Petersburg restaurant is bringing its seasonal Italian and Southern soul to Pasco.
Joining coming-soon Wesley Chapel dining spots like Ford’s Garage, Fuzzy’s Taco Shop and the recently launched UNION72, Noble Crust aims to open a second location at The Shops at Wiregrass sometime in April. Other restaurateurs have introduced their eateries to Wesley Chapel because they’re familiar with the area and they’ve seen how much it’s grown — and continues to expand (look at projects such as Crystal Lagoon, the massive swimming pool that’s part of a luxury housing development) — while some note a lack of independently owned restaurants. For Noble Crust, it’s kind of a mix of all three.
Co-owner Jeff Strouse, who lived in the New Tampa area with his wife Angela for 22 years, has witnessed the growth of Wesley Chapel firsthand.
“We’ve just seen it grow, and I know from talking to friends and former neighbors and everything else there’s such a need up there because people get tired of driving all the way downtown or to Seminole Heights or wherever to go out to dinner,” Strouse told CL. “By the time you drive home at night if you work, by the time you get there, you don’t want to leave. So there’s a need.”
Noble Crust’s latest restaurant, 3,200 square feet with around 170 seats, is taking shape next to Pinchers at 28330 Paseo Drive. One of the reasons Strouse and partners T.J. Thielbar and Tim Curci were able to snag the space is because they don’t need the square footage many restaurants do. Their 2-year-old flagship uses a small Fourth Street kitchen for its prep work, then makes a delivery of house-made pasta and other ingredients with a refrigerated truck to the restaurant just before service.
“[Chef Rob Reinsmith’s] got that side of his brain where he’s really good at really authentic Italian cuisine, so that’s the kind of intense stuff we’re able to do down there that we just didn’t have room for,” Curci said of the off-site commissary. “But doing it and blending it with Southern favorites and Southern cuisines is really playful and fun.”
More or less, the Wesley Chapel menu will be consistent with what’s offered in Pinellas, as will the new restaurant’s modern, repurposed look. Though Reinsmith — who’s been the executive chef at Noble Crust St. Pete since opening day — is set to serve as executive chef for every concept the partners launch moving forward, his brother Colin will be the Shops at Wiregrass location’s chef as another assumes the position in St. Pete. Curci says Rob will let the chefs’ creativity shine in daily specials, which could be added to the main bill of fare if they’re well-received.
A nice-size patio, to carry on the bright, high-energy atmosphere that the flagship’s outdoor area has established, is planned as well. The patio is a complementary element to Noble Crust St. Pete’s evolving brunch service, as well as a focal point of the restaurant itself.
“It’s gonna definitely stick out more so than the typical restaurant that’s attached to the mall,” Thielbar said.
But Wesley Chapel isn’t the only project the Noble Crust crew is working on. They’re gearing up to launch Fat Beet Farm at 13830 W. Hillsborough Ave., which will house the restaurant’s soon-to-be-relocated prep kitchen inside a produce production building. According to Curci, he bought the Tampa property, originally meant for a retail and townhome development, because his wife Jen loves farming, plus he knew he wanted to get back into restaurants after leaving Bonefish Grill, the seafood chain he co-founded (Thielbar was also on the founding team).
“Deliveries will be made out of here to any restaurants we do moving forward with authentic farm ingredients,” Curci said. “We’re not gonna be able to do 100 percent, but we’re gonna try to get there, each year try to increase the percentage by getting better at what we’re doing and not doing it all ourselves.”
Putting on weekend farmers’ markets will help the farm spotlight and develop relationships with local growers doing boutique, artisanal produce — not the conventional stuff that’s shipped all over the country.
“We want to support other local growers as well, ones that are truly growing locally. Try to help the movement, try to provide a platform for people to be able to showcase their products and start to get traction. ’Cause that’s the hardest part,” Curci said.
Once complete, the 12-acre property will feature 10 acres of farm and two acres of commercial space dedicated to two restaurants overlooking the farm: a yet-to-be-named roadside stop for biscuits and Fat Beet Farm Restaurant.
Fat Beet’s farm-to-table namesake will serve a varied lineup of signature, hearty entrees with grilled and barbecued meats and seafood, alongside “really good side items,” and the drive-thru lane at the roadside, open from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. or so, will wrap around the production building, allowing for additional views of the farm. Expect a covered deck with misters and air conditioning, as well as a retail section highlighting farm greens and herbs, to-go items (think Chef Rob’s ravioli) and possibly some more locally made products.
Those eateries will follow after the second and third Noble Crusts debut; Strouse says they’re looking into Carrollwood next.
“We want to get these other Noble Crusts done so that we have enough volume to really start making [the farm] make sense,” Curci said. “We don’t have to rethink this. We can just replicate what we’re doing and get more efficient because we’ll have one place to prep.”
In addition to implementing affordable family-style Sunday Gravy dinners (that include a free glass of wine) and Noble After 9 (a late-night fusion of specialty cocktails, food and live music) at Noble Crust, the partners have done their own R&D for Fat Beet, traveling and spending some time out west, where they found good examples of similar projects. They mention Serious Pie and Serious Biscuit owner Tom Douglas, who has a commissary, not a farm, for his Seattle restaurants, along with St. Helena, California’s Farmstead at Long Meadow Ranch, which incorporates the property’s daily harvest into its cooking and also hosts a farmers’ market.
“It’ll be very unique to Florida,” Strouse said. “There’s certainly not anything like it.”
This article appears in Feb 2-9, 2017.