Will the third time be the charm for the restaurant at the southeast corner of Indian School and 56th Street?
The recently renovated building, which used to be a garage, opened in August as Vatra Grillhouse, and, after getting a lukewarm response from the public, relaunched a month ago with new chef Peter DeRuvo (former executive chef of high-end Sassi in North Scottsdale) and new GM Bill DeGroot (Quiessence, Estate House, Metro Brasserie).
Now, there are signs up that it's called Kitchen 56, and will reopen in early 2011.
Did DeRuvo and DeGroot bail?
Last week, I heard rumors that DeRuvo was hired as chef Claudio Urciuoli's replacement at Prado -- which were neither confirmed nor denied by reps for the restaurant. (Urciuoli recently left Prado to work with pizza guru Chris Bianco, and his replacement hasn't been officially announced yet.)
A new press release from the Vatra/Kitchen 56 camp, released New Year's Day, says, "The community has spoken and we have listened." This sounds a lot like the press release from Vatra at the end of November, which said the Vatra folks were "listening to feedback from guests, neighbors, and friends."
The difference this time around is that there's no mention of who's in charge in the kitchen, or what kind of food is in store.
According to the restaurant's one-page website, "The new eatery and bar will serve the tastes of Arcadia with delicious neighborhood favorites, a well-priced bar and a warm and gracious atmosphere."
