Gravy Restaurant Coming to Wilmington Street

It has been only 5 months since the closing of Riviera Resto on Wilmington Street, but there is already a new restaurant in the works at this location. Greg Hatem (and EmpireEats) will partner with Bella Monica restaurant to create Gravy. Bella Monica is known for their flatbread and it is said that Gravy will be a modern version of traditional Italian-American Food. ~~We hear it could open later this month.~~ TBJ is reporting that it will hopefully open in June.

Let’s see, Hatem will now be partner in a Lebanese, Chinese, Southern, American (Times??) and Italian restaurant. Empire Eats is becoming a melting pot indeed. The downtown market just keeps booming with restaurants. Retail will get here someday.

GD04/06 03:29 PM

Great news!

I like that space a lot too…

Jason DiMambro04/06 03:54 PM

So good to hear that Corbett and Julie Monica are coming to downtown Raleigh. I frequent Bella Monica in Edwards Mill Shopping Center. Their food is always delicious, good price point and their service is absolutely remarkable. Same goes for their wait staff and management. So looking forward to this!

hackles1004/06 03:54 PM

Awesome! I am sure they will utilize the shared back patio/outdoor area with Sitti! Can’t wait until the bar is installed out there!

Pretty amazing if they open up within a month! I would be impressed with any opening pre-July 4!

Micah04/06 03:56 PM

That is exciting! The only thing I wonder about is why they are calling it “Gravy?” It just seems like a strange name for an Italian Restaurant, doesn’t it?

sarah04/06 03:59 PM

I believe that in Italian food the sauce is many times called “gravy”

hackles1004/06 03:59 PM

Its a cool restaurant name, i actually really like it. But yeah, strange for an italian place!

miamiblue04/06 04:03 PM

@Micah: Could be because some Italian-Americans refer to “sauce” as “gravy”. For example, the stuff that most people call spaghetti sauce is sometimes called gravy. That’s just my guess on the name.

I am looking forward to this! My friends and I were just recently wondering what would happen with the old Riviera space.

Micah04/06 04:07 PM

I guess that might explain the name. I didn’t know an italian sauce was ever called a gravy (well, unless it is a thickened sauce made from meat drippings and fat, which is what gravy is!)

thegamerswife04/06 04:11 PM

I’m from Italian descent and almost all my relatives and me call pasta sauce “gravy” so I’m assuming others do as well, hence the name of the restaurant. Looking forward to trying it!

kg04/06 04:50 PM

so we’re going to have a biscuit place downtown… alright!

Jason DiMambro04/06 05:24 PM

Don’t you people ever watch The Soprano’s?!? I mean, geeesh! : )

DJ04/06 05:37 PM

I hope they have some “gabagool” on the menu.

RaleighRob04/07 08:19 AM

I’m glad something is going in that space.

I dunno about another Italian place though…downtown already has Luna, Posta, Vics and 518. (Plus more nearby in Cameron Village/NCSU areas.) Can downtown sustain even more?

Hatem/Empire hit a home run with Sitti, cuz Lebanese is surely unique. If he can bring downtown’s first French or Indian place he’d probably hit another home run with that.

I hope Gravy makes it though…sounds like it’ll be cool. But wow…at this rate downtown Raleigh will be the Triangle’s “Little Italy”. LOL

Jenna04/07 09:34 AM

@RaleighRob, you are absolutely right about an Indian place! As it stands now, I have to drive WAY up Capital Blvd for decent Indian food. We need an Indian place downtown! At least for French-inspired food, one need look no further than Bloomsbury Bistro.

That said, I wish Gravy the best of luck!

Michael04/07 11:22 AM

While I’m familiar with the convention of calling Italian sauces “gravy”, I feel like this is another case of over-thinking the name. With a one word name like Gravy, the connotation is what’s important, and most people have a very Thanksgiving-centric image of what gravy is. Maybe they’ll reconsider before the restaurant opens.

Kristine04/07 02:36 PM

I agree with RaleighBob & Jenna…bring on the Indian!! Am seriously addicted to Channa Masala, vindaloo, cilantro chutney, garlic naan, etc…it would be wonderful to have an Indian restaurant with a modern twist in the downtown locale.

Note to Greg: time to talk with Nagi Reddy.

am excited about Bella Monica coming downtown. Love their little family enterprise. It is one of the not-so-hidden gems in Raleigh.

adrizzle04/07 02:53 PM

Agreed, bring Saffron(Morrisville/RTP) to downtown Raleigh.

L04/08 01:33 PM

off-subject re: Gravy.. but I’ve been telling the manager at Crisp (Crabtree Mall) they need to come downtown. Has anyone ever tried it?? YUM! Only location is the mall, which is unfortunate..

Mindcrime04/08 07:32 PM

Tbmhis probably shouldve stayed under the radar for a while, what is this TMZ?

MMI04/09 01:47 PM

You guys are correct on the origin of the name. It is probably more proper to call this establishment “Italian-American,” though, as the name “gravy” is entirely an I-American invention.

We should probably also assume a heavy reliance on southern Italian cooking. Red (tomato) sauces are more prevalent there, and that’s usually the designation for “gravy.”

Damn…now I’m craving Braciole!

APM04/09 03:47 PM

I don’t care what the name is or how many Italian restaurants there are downtown—it’s a Bella Monica restaurant and I couldn’t be happier. Their food and service is amazing. I can’t wait to have a location closer to home!

Jenn04/10 03:02 PM

Hello! If I learned anything from the Sopranos it was that Italians call “sauce” Gravy! Sounds awesome

malloryhatcher04/22 03:55 PM

While Riviera is still missed, Gravy sounds like a worthy replacement. I wish them only the best!

ninja05/06 12:13 PM

The restaurant Gravy includes a prejudice person in Corbett Monica. Go up to him and ask him what he thinks of President Obama. He refers to anyone who voted for him as an idiot.

I hope he doesn’t microwave his food like he does at his other overrated place. Yeah! He uses microwaves to cook his food.

He’s a bully and be often found around town drunk.

here05/11 09:06 AM

Ninja if that is true which is really bad, I think its hilarious that he would be partners with Haydem since that idiot had a 25 foot spot light picture of Obama projected out of a restaurant across the street from his building onto his building. Might make for heated arguments, haydem being a huge Obama supporter and having the rally and everything outside of his RTB. Should make for an interesting combo. As for a microwave that would be new tech for Corbett that moron cooks all his “High End” italian fare out of an old domino’s pizza conveyor oven. The kind you keep putting things through till they are done. Not to mention the addition of his 4th microwave in one small kitchen. I love how so many people love his “Authentic” italian food that is all pre-purchased, pre-packaged, frozen and cook as if it was a pepperoni pizza with a side of cheese sticks. I hope empire knows what its in for and realizes that it will go down in standards food wise in my book no matter what there publicist would like us to believe. Bella Monica is just a fancy pizza joint. No more no less. If you want that kind of food get a can of ragu and boil some pasta.

busyindeed05/17 03:04 PM

I ate at the bee a few weeks ago and it’s not even in the same class as Raleigh Times. I tried the burger as a way to gauge something simple, and I would have been better off with fast food. The meat was dry, and the fries were soggy and damp. It was plated on a huge white dish that dwarfed the food and it took 40 minutes to cook.

They also make food with mayo even though it isn’t listed on the menu. Buyer beware.

I wouldn’t eat there again unless I heard of huge changes in menu and cooking ability.

mimi05/21 09:41 AM

my understanding is the chef on this one is making everything from scratch, so I don;t expect to see an army of microwaves in the kitchen…but who knows. only time will tell. i hear they are supposed to open june 8

elmo05/23 04:57 PM

June 8th sounds great to me! I love Bella Monica and the food and service are always excellent. With any luck Gravy will follow in those footsteps and we won’t have to leave downtown!

Welcome to New Raleigh. We welcome your participation in the ongoing discussion. Before posting we ask that you read our Comment Policy and we invite you to register with our site. If you want to keep up with the news on our blog, subscribe to the RSS feed or get emailed every time we post.

Jedidiah Monday, April 06, 2009