The restaurant is stocked for this week's opening.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — After a monthlong break and a relocation, popular restaurant Grazie is ready to reopen this Wednesday.
Chef/owner Matt Tatro has moved to 310 State St. and expanded beyond the original Italian menu.
"We don't want to limit ourselves," he said. "We don't want that title Italian restaurant anymore, per se. It really restricts us in kind of what we're able to comfortably do."
The new location at the old Hot Dog Ranch is part of that reconfiguring of the menu. Situated next to Noel Field Athletic complex and on a busy roadway, Tatro sees the need to cater to a different demographic from Grazie's original spot on Marshall Street.
"We've seen even just being here for people that wouldn't generally come to the Grazie location on Marshall Street are coming here to try to have lunch," he said.
The larger bar and a sign touting the eatery's cocktails also signals a change from restaurant with a bar to a bar restaurant. General manager Christi Ross will be back behind the bar mixing her signature drinks.
Grazie started as a collaboration in 2016 between Tatro and developer David Moresi, who was renovating the Mulcare Building on Marshall and had dreams of restoring his grandfather's tavern, the Mohawk, and opening an Italian eatery.
Moresi says he hasn't given up on that dream but Tatro felt it was time for him to move on.
"There wasn't an Italian restaurant in North Adams, so it worked for me. I was OK. But now it's time for us to kind of do what we want to do, mix it up a little bit rebrand ourselves," he said. "When you have a title you want to fit the role, but Christi, you know, her drinks and Mark does a good job in the kitchen and other things that aren't Italian. ...
"I'm also a big advocate of letting people do what they're good at and allow them to grow it, and, you know, I'm not Italian."
He'd been interested in opening a second location in 2023 when the former Hot Dog Ranch had been purchased and renovated into The Venue, a rental space. It wasn't the right time then but earlier this year he closed on the building. He also had opened Tres Ninos Taqueria on Marshall Street but sold that earlier this year.
There have been some changes from The Venue, including a larger bar with eight more seats and a takeout window at the entrance. Tatro figured he'd lost about four to seven seats in the move. On Friday, there were still boxes of items to be put away and employees were working vendors on final purchases.
Tatro said he'd been waiting for the alcohol license from the state, which had been held up for some clerical issues. In the meantime, Grazie launched the takeout window for lunch and dinner.
That's given the crew time to familiarize themselves with the new somewhat bigger kitchen and also service a major component of the restaurant's business. Tatro said the takeout portion has grown from about 5 percent to 30 percent since the pandemic got people "conditioned to enjoying a nice meal in the comfort of their own home."
The menu addition of "hand helds," including a burger and fries, has also pumped the takeout numbers.
"[Today] was our busiest lunch we've done, and it was the easiest lunch we've done," he said. "So we're even already getting better at what we're doing. And the first week [of in-person dining], we may have some bumps, but we're going to get there."
That doesn't mean Italian is off the menu — you can still get Chicken Milanese, Shrimp fra Diavolo and a caprese salad. But there's now more casual and fusion fare, like tuna sashimi, pub shrimp, a meatball sub and truffle fries.
There's a few new faces, too, but it's mostly the same staff and Tatro said they have a camaraderie where everyone knows who's doing what and have the certain verbiage and language that puts them on the same page.
"Dave was a great mentor for me, helped me expedite my career along, probably by 10 years," Tatro said. "But I'm glad to be where we are here and own my own building. You know, be the creator of my own destiny."
Grazie's lunch hours are Thursday through Saturday 11:30 to 4 and dinner hours Wednesday through Monday until 9. Closed Tuesday. The restaurant does not take reservations; call 413-664-0044 to get on a waitlist or to order.
