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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowCelebrity chef Fabio Viviani is opening an Italian restaurant in Carmel later this year that will capitalize on the Market District grocery store’s supply of fresh meats and produce.
Chicago-based Fabio Viviani Hospitality Group is partnering with Giant Eagle’s Market District to open Osteria Carmel in the former Table by Market District space in fall 2021. The new brunch, lunch and dinner restaurant at 11505 N. Illinois St. will serve fresh pasta, meatballs, roast chicken, pizza and other dishes from every region of Italy.
Top Chef alum, hospitality developer, cookbook author and TV host Viviani told IBJ he anticipates at least 75% of Osteria Carmel’s menu ingredients will come through Market District’s distribution chain.
“We’ve been entertaining the idea of doing business with the folks of Market District for a while,” Viviani said. “For me, as a chef, it’s like a kid that has Disneyland in his backyard.”
Though this will be the first partnership between Giant Eagle and the hospitality company, it will not be the first restaurant by Viviani to open in the state. Viviani Hospitality Group opened The Eatery, a restaurant in Lawrenceburg’s Hollywood Casino, in December 2018.
Viviani launched his hospitality group with just one restaurant that he owned and operated in Moorpark, California, in 2007. Viviani said his restaurant group has since expanded to more than 40 locations across the United States, and its 26 concepts include diners food, burgers, seafood, tavern fare, ethnic cuisine and more.
Osteria Carmel was born out of discussions with the grocery to start featuring Viviani’s cookware in the store. He said he liked the idea of locating next to another business with a preexisting flow of foot traffic, sufficient parking and a wellspring of ingredients.
The full menu isn’t finalized, but it will include Calabrian chili orecchiette with clams, Nduja mussels, dry-aged steak and more. Viviani said Osteria Carmel will include and improve upon popular dishes from his other restaurants. It will also feature beer, wine and cocktails.
In addition to dine-in services, Viviani emphasized Osteria Carmel’s goal is to provide takeout customers the same experience they might’ve had if they’d chosen to eat at the restaurant.
Although some guests might choose to spend upwards of $100 for a steak dinner and a bottle of wine, a pizza and beer might cost around $20 and an average ticket will likely be closer to $40, Viviani said.
“Osteria food is well-executed,” Viviani said. “It’s served with heritage. It’s bold, it’s in your face, full of flavor, and we’re going to serve it to you in a rustically refined manner.”
Correction: An original version of this story listed the wrong location for Fabio Viviani Hospitality Group.
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Anybody else noticing a trend here? An awful lot of new restaurants are opening in Hamilton County, not downtown Indy.
No, not really. Plenty of new restaurant announcements and openings have been occuring in Downtown Indy too. There’s a lot opening at Bottleworks and 16 tech.
And its replacing a restaurant that carmel lost. So its not really a gain.
A lot of new restaurants in Carmel or HamCo have locations in downtown or throughout Indy. Gordon’s Milkshake is opening up a second location in Carmel. The Patachou empire started at and still thrives at 49th/Penn and has HamCo locations as well as downtown.
Restaurants in Hamilton County don’t seem to last very long, even in desirable locations. So it seems like a lot of openings, but they’re usually replacing short-lived restaurants.
Cool, I guess?
Carmel already has several Italian restaurants. Admittedly Italian cuisine varies based on the region. But with Convivo in the same general area, Stacco House and Ristorante Roma nearby, maybe Carmel could use something else besides Italian, burgers, and pizza.
That said it is far better than another burger or ice cream joint.
I began reading this and thought- hmmm is it going to be pizza, burgers or Italian?! Hahaha c’mon someone open a Carmel sports bar already!!!
With Convivio just across the parking lot, a second Italian restaurant is an interesting choice.
Hopefully, this restaurant will be an improvement over the former Table restaurant. A Thanksgiving brunch there proved an expensive, yet major disappointment, with most of the brunch selections either cold, or not available due to insufficient quantities planned.