Could St. Petersburgs Two Graces be the restaurant of the future? – Tampa Bay Times

ST. PETERSBURG Marlin Kaplan can picture it now.

Were standing in the middle of the first garden room, he says, gesturing to a large patch of grass.

Right here, on an empty plot of dirt, will be the main dining room a covered area tucked beneath a pergola-like structure, surrounded by lush plants and landscaping.

Over there, a smaller space abutting a parking lot, will be a circular patio, flanked by a towering live oak tree and decorated with bright lights the kind that imbue a holiday-any-time-of-year feel.

In the middle of it all will be a large fountain and a walkway. And all the way in the back, a secluded dining area shrouded by curtains will offer an intimate setting for private gatherings.

Sure, there are some things happening inside, too. But thats not the point. Kaplan is determined to open what he believes will be the restaurant of the future, where outdoor seating rather than indoor dining will be the highlight.

But right now its just a patch of grass.

Two Graces, which will open early next year, is poised to be one of 2021s most interesting and ambitious restaurant debuts. The space, next to Freefall Theatre in St. Petersburg, takes over the former Reading Room building at 6001 Central Ave., which closed in 2019.

Kevin Lane, Lauren Macellaro, Jessika Palombo and Kevin Damphouse together ran the restaurant, which opened in early 2017 and attracted widespread acclaim. It earned Macellaro, the executive chef, a semifinalist nod for the James Beard Foundations Best Chef: South award. The Reading Rooms closure was a loss for both the neighborhood and the Tampa Bay areas culinary community.

Earlier this year, Lane (a co-founder of Freefall Theatre) approached Kaplan, who together with partner Lisa Masterson runs the fine dining restaurant Grace in Pass-a-Grille as well as the gourmet goods-to-go shop Gracie Pasta & Provisions. Kaplan had dined at the Reading Room, and saw potential for a new restaurant in the space. But it was the yawning lot of grass a roughly 1,500-square-foot space abutting the theaters main building and parking lot that really piqued his interest.

Since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, Kaplan says hes noticed a big uptick in diners interested in eating outside, likely in response to reports from health experts, who have repeatedly stressed the inherent risks of indoor dining.

Tampa Bays approach to outdoor dining during the pandemic hasnt mirrored that of other cities. While other places have embraced the parklet boom erecting standalone dining partitions outside of restaurants and in parking spaces restaurants here have been more hesitant to the trend. At Grace, Kaplan has been able to take over a few parking spots and expand the outdoor space, but says its nowhere near the kind of business he can do inside. And while other parts of the country have banned indoor dining again amid a national spike in coronavirus cases, that hasnt happened in Florida at least not yet.

Still, Kaplan isnt holding his breath. Even though Gov. Ron DeSantis has repeatedly said otherwise, he doesnt trust that another restaurant shutdown isnt looming. After all, who knows what next year and a new presidential administration will bring?

I really feel like this is the future of dining with COVID, Kaplan said. The restaurant of the future is outdoors.

Since the Reading Rooms shutter, the Central Avenue space has remained vacant. In recent months, Kaplan employed local gardener Maggie Jensen to tend to the property and now the lush garden, once the highlight of Reading Rooms dining program, is once again thriving.

But the main attraction at Two Graces will be the entirely al fresco dining experience that can seat 100 people. The so-called garden rooms are essentially patio spaces divided with landscaping. The main covered space will seat roughly 48 people, and several smaller uncovered patio areas will dot the rest of the property.

Outdoor dining is less attractive during Tampa Bays sweltering summer months, but Kaplan says there are contingency plans for Floridas often unpredictable weather patterns: misters for the hot, balmy days and heat lamps for the odd evening where the temperature dips below 60 degrees.

Inside the restaurant, the space will seat an additional 50 people. Leather banquettes line the dining area, which faces a long bar with room for an additional 12 seats. Chairs are upholstered in bright-colored velvet and a colorful mural from New York illustrator Alli Arnold decorates a wall near the kitchen where a petite chefs counter provides a few extra spots for those looking to get a glimpse of the action.

Though specials will incorporate some of what the outdoor garden has to offer, unlike the restaurants predecessor, that wont be a focal point at Two Graces. Instead, Kaplan said, the menu will feature a New American spread that will be familiar to longtime regulars at his Pass-a-Grille restaurant. Starters include a crispy Brussels sprouts dish with citrus aioli ($16), a baked burrata served with pomegranate seeds and baguette ($22), and mussels with white wine and grilled ciabatta ($15).

The restaurant inherited a large wood-burning oven, from which the likes of wood-fired pizzas will emerge. Some of the larger entrees include dishes like a roasted baby pumpkin filled with pumpkin risotto and topped with a Parmesan tuile ($26); a filet mignon with an herbed breadcrumb crust, artichoke, bacon and potato torte and demi-glace (market price); and pan-roasted sea scallops served with a crispy polenta cake, micro greens salad and a roasted beet sauce ($32).

Handmade pastas from Gracie Pasta & Provisions will be featured, including the Gracie Tagliatelle ($28) with short rib ragu and shaved truffles, and a linguine dish ($22) featuring a mushroom medley, goat cheese and herb butter. For dessert, there will be a blueberry lemon and lavender panna cotta ($8); honey almond cheesecake with amarena cherries ($8); and a triple chocolate brownie with salted caramel ice cream ($8).

Masterson is curating a wine list heavy on organic and biodynamic wines, and the cocktail menu will look to local flora and fauna for inspiration, with drinks named after local flowers.

Though a decent amount of construction and landscaping for the outdoor space remains to be done, Kaplan hopes to be open sometime in early January. He wont open without the outdoor space finished, he says.

After all, its kind of the whole point.

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Could St. Petersburgs Two Graces be the restaurant of the future? - Tampa Bay Times