Amick, Tuohy open Atlanta eateries, focus on smaller portions

Nation's Restaurant News, August 26, 2002 by Jack Hayes

ATLANTA -- In an attempt to combat the economic slowdown and subsequent soft sales at restaurants during the last 18 months here, two of this city's industry pioneers have opened distinctive, moderately priced concepts in an affluent neighborhood near midtown. And both are based on serving smaller-sized or "tasting" portions.

Bob Amick, who steered the former Peasant Restaurants group to become a 35-unit chain, and Michael Tuohy, a Northern Californian who in the mid-1980s introduced high-end fare here with his Chefs Cafe, debuted One Midtown Kitchen and Woodfire Grill in the affluent transitional corridor of east Atlanta earlier this month.

A key to both concepts is their "portion-influenced" menus, which feature smaller-than-appetizer-sized dishes called "tastes." Guests are invited to create an eclectic meal by combining and sharing several such portions or by ordering larger platters to share. While traditional entrees have not been abandoned, they are emphasized less.

"This is the right concept for the economy." Amick said regarding One Midtown Kitchen. The operator, who developed the popular American-theme Mick's Cafe while he was heading operations for Peasant, added, "I've learned from 30-plus years in this business how important it is to do great food at a moderate price."

Amick, who invested $1.5 million in the 6,000-square-foot, 200-seat One Midtown Kitchen, estimated that the restaurant would gross in excess of $3 million in its first year. He added that per-person check averages are about $25.

Amick, like Tuohy, sold 25 percent of his new restaurant's equity to a small group of investors. He also gave equity positions to executive chef Kevin Reilly, a New York veteran who built his reputation at Union Square Cafe, Zoe and China Grill, and general manager Todd Rushing, who has worked with Amick for 20 years.

"We want to play up the word 'kitchen' because the idea is casual, like a party in your home, where it's cozy and friendly," Amick said. "We're going to give you everything you can get anywhere else--except for less."

Tuohy's value-themed vision for Woodfire Grill, which he said offers "a very high quality and high-caliber experience at a moderate price," echoes Amick's own ideology. He also has returned to the neighborhood where he carved out his reputation with Chefs Cafe 18 years ago, operating in the former Marra's Seafood Grill, about a mile from One Midtown Kitchen.

"We brought the Northern California casualization of fine dining here," Tuohy said. "We set a lot of trends in the 1980s, and we're continuing that with Woodfire Grill. There isn't another restaurant in Atlanta that is roasting whole chickens to order, and we're the first with a full-scale cheese program of the type you see in New York and San Francisco."

Tuohy, who has a $500,000 investment in Woodfire and estimated a first-year gross of $1.5 million, recruited former Chef's Cafe general manager Charles Marvil, a fine-dining veteran whose most recent stint was as general manager at upscale steakhouse Prime, also in Atlanta.

Estimating an average dinner check of $35, Tuohy is garnishing his concept with an "afterwards" dessert menu that features artisan and farmstead cheeses, dessert wines, and pressed-pot coffees and teas. He also is featuring such signature items as wood-oven-roasted figs with whipped cream and biscotti, Georgia peach crostata with vanilla Chantilly cream and buttermilk panna cotta with strawberry-vanilla compote and shortbread cookies.

Working within budget constraints, Tuohy designed Woodfire Grill's interior using wood, iron, copper and brick to re-create the rustic warmth of a wine country restaurant. The focal point of the restaurant is the Wood Stone wood-fired grill, rotisserie and oven in the central dining area.

In contrast, Amick's One Midtown Kitchen has more of an urban ambience.

Though the contemporary decor might be defined as "American brasserie," Amick, who hired well-known Atlanta designer Bill Johnson to bring the industrial interior to life, said his chief intention was to impart energy, warmth and openness.

"I just don't like the word 'brasserie,' "he said of the space, which offers a sprawling view of downtown Atlanta from the east perimeter of Piedmont Park. "I'd say it's like walking through New York's meat-packing district and stumbling onto a treasure."

Woodfire Grill offers nine to 12 daily "taste" plates, priced between $3 and $6. Selections include wild salmon, "crudo" fennel, lemon, herbs and olive oil; Cimino farm cantaloupe with lavender honey; white anchovies with fennel, lemon, and olive oil; and marinated roasted peppers with manchego and herbs.

Woodfire's "small plates" selection, which is priced from $6 to $12, features such offerings as braised Grimaud farm duck leg, arugula, fire-roasted onions, grilled peaches and champagnemustard vinaigrette; yellow heirloom tomato gazpacho with tarragon creme fraiche; and crisp soft shell crab with smoked tomato remoulade.

For mainstream guests Woodfire's entrees, priced from $17 to $22, include pan-roasted wild striped bass, roasted fingerling potatoes and sweet corn-roasted pepper salsa; spit-roasted Colorado lamb with fingerling potatoes, spicy rapini and tapenade butter; and cedar-planked Copper River salmon with tomato-arugula salad and herb vinaigrette.