Caffe Portobello has an eight-year history as a neighborhood restaurant in the beautiful North Scottsdale community of McDowell Mountain Ranch. But if you haven't been into the restaurant lately, you may be in for a big surprise.
On September 18th new owners Bill Wallace and Kari Kinney, partners in business and in life, took possession of the restaurant, did a complete renovation, and reintroduced it to the community just seven days later. Caffe Portobello was originally owned by an authentic Italian family before Wallace and Kinney purchased it.
The couple, which has lived in McDowell Mountain Ranch for five years, owned and ran Autobahn Collision of Scottsdale before purchasing the restaurant, so entrepreneurship runs in their blood. The couple was in the market for a new venture and Caffe Portobello turned out to be it. "We drove by the restaurant every day and we had a vision for it," says Kari Kinney, director of operations for the restaurant. "One day my husband says, 'We're going to buy Caffe Portobello.'"
.jpg) With that same definitiveness, Wallace and Kinney produced a very purposeful whirlwind renovation; bringing a more sophisticated and chic feel to the restaurant and emphasizing the fantastic mountain views. "We painted from floor to ceiling, reupholstered and added a 700-bottle wine room," says Kinney. "We took out the old fireplace and put in the open flame. That is our open sign – whenever that flame is on, we're here."
Other changes, such as the inspired new menu, were months in the making. "We did research for several months," admits Kinney. As a nod to the original Caffe Portobello owners, Kinney and Wallace reintroduced a European flare to the restaurant's cuisine, which they call Modern American with an Italian flare. For the community's health-conscious residents, the menu now features healthier fare, and everything is fresh and/or made from scratch including the hand-cut fries, made in-house pizza dough, fresh meats, and hand-selected cheeses. Some of the original menu offerings include the east end burger with lump crabmeat and the crispy calamari served buffalo style.
Wallace himself spent a great deal of time revamping the wine selection to offer only small production and boutique wines not found anywhere else in the valley. "We want to keep it exclusive and fun for the customer to taste a few wines complimentary to see what really fits their palate before ordering a glass," says Wallace. "We want them to have fun with it." The new owners are continuing the restaurant's legacy of half-price-bottle-of-wine night on Tuesdays.
Another important component of the existing Caffe Portobello that the couple felt compelled to maintain,… the restaurant's name, of course. "We could have changed the name, but we kept the name because Caffe Portobello is a landmark in the community, and we are not outsiders; we have been part of the community for five years," according to Wallace. That said, he adds, "But it's not Caffe Portobello anymore. It's the new Caffe Portobello. It is a little bit of everything for everyone. It is the perfect place for a nice, romantic, quaint, high-quality dinner with fine wine. We invite the community to let go of the old and take in the new."
And that they have. Kinney and Wallace have enjoyed "surprising" old Caffe Portobello regulars with the changes and welcoming a new, previously un-captured audience.
As the restaurant continues to evolve into more of a dinner club/wine house/piano bar, Kinney and Wallace are developing a monthly calendar of events, revamping the restaurant's website to be more user friendly, and working on strengthening their relationship with the community by offering their support and giving back.
"We've made a big impact on the community because we are residents and one of us is always here interacting with our clientele," says Kinney. "They see that we are hardworking business owners. This is not our hobby; this is our passion."
The New Caffe Portobello
10401 E. McDowell Mountian Ranch Road, Scottsdale, AZ 85255
Phone: 480.538.0211
Web: www.caffeportobello.com |
