A "high-end Italian eatery" is coming to the downtown Gainesville square, the latest addition to the in-development Gainesville Renaissance project.
The as yet unnamed restaurant is the second dine-in location that has been announced as part of the project, following Latin-Asian fusion restaurant Taqueria Tsunami.
The restaurant's Spring Street location will apparently feature a large patio overlooking the city's new Renaissance Park, and is undergoing immediate interior construction in hopes of opening to the public sometime this fall.
Originating from a partnership between Fork U Concepts owners Scott and Alexis Kinsey and Naples, Italy, native Raffaele Crispino, the restaurant will feature freshly-made pastas, globally-inspired Italian dishes with old country recipes and a Naples-sourced Manni Forni Pizza oven that will be used to bake pizzas on-site.
“We are delighted to be joining the Gainesville Community. We could not have picked a better location than the Gainesville Renaissance Building," Crispino said in a press release sent to local media on Thursday. "Gainesville Renaissance reminds us of a special European building with an old-world charm but with all the comforts of 21st century construction."
Developer Fred Roddy, who is overseeing the construction of the Gainesville Renaissance project, said in the release that securing two "anchor tenants" will allow for the leasing of "in-line" tenants that will fill the remaining interior portion of the project's first floor.
The Gainesville Renaissance is a 60,000-square-foot mixed-use development that features three levels, with restaurant and retail space on the ground floor, Brenau University's Lynn J. Darby School of Psychology on the second floor and seven condominiums on the top floor.
