Get ready for Tonica Downtown. The second location of the Midtown restaurant is slated to open October 9th at 265 South Front Street. That’s the building with the old Paramount Pictures logo on the front. It was an office for the old Paramount Distributor Company. In recent years, it housed Pretty Taco and The Paramount restaurant.
John-Paul Gagliano, one of the sons of Sabine Bachmann, founder of Tonica as well as Ecco and Libro restaurants, is owner of the upcoming restaurant.
His brother, chef Armando Gagliano, who is working on menu development for Tonica Downtown, is planning to move with his family to Italy, where his mom now lives, John-Paul says. Their brother, chef Mario Gagliano, also has thought about moving to Italy, he says.
His mother has friends in Italy, but now she’ll have family, including grandchildren, near her, John-Paul says. “There are big plans about starting another restaurant in Italy.”
John-Paul now is owner of both Tonicas as well as Ecco and Libro. “I’ve always been drawn to the business,” he says. “Business in general. Not just the restaurant business. I do my real estate on the side. I have investment property. It made sense for me to buy up the shares and continue running [the restaurant businesses] here.”
As for the new space, John-Paul says,”I’m going from a 1,300-square-foot area, 65-seater to a 4,500-square-foot area capable of holding 160 head at a time.”
They’ll be joining “all the nice eateries,” including Amelia Gene’s and Felicia Suzanne’s, in the South Main District, John-Paul says.
But, he adds, “We’re not trying to compete with anybody. I want to come in with something different that is not down here.”
He says, “I don’t want to be known as a bar. I want to be known as casual fine dining. Good food we make in house. We’re planning on small plates, tapas. I plan on expanding the menu.”
He wants to add steak, shrimp, and salads in addition to 15 new tapas.
The restaurant will be open seven days a week and will feature brunch.
On the north side of the building will be a separate “bakery/dessert” area, which will be run by Shari Haley, a “longtime employee with a passion to pursue her own bakery.” She’ll serve “cool little desserts” and maybe gelatos, John-Paul says. “We didn’t realize how much foot traffic is down there until we started renovating the spot.”
They’re not doing too much to the interior for now. “We’re looking to redo floors, redo lighting, redo the private dining area.”
They will now have an open kitchen, which is a first for the string of restaurants.
John-Paul wants to take advantage of the building’s “big open windows.”
In addition to “building” a restaurant, John-Paul will continue with his bodybuilding by pursuing an IFBB (International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation) pro card with “two shows on the horizon. A state show in November and [his] national debut show in December.”
