Local chef Roberto Leoci will head a new Italian restaurant and bar located inside Bay Street’s upscale boutique Kimpton Hotel, The Brice, slated to open this May.
Called Pacci Italian Kitchen + Bar, the new concept will meld traditional Italian cuisine with locally sourced Southern foods, according to a press release.
Leoci’s menu will include small plates, antipasti, fresh salads, handcrafted pizzas and pastas as well as more formal entrees. The chef already has Leoci’s Trattoria in Savannah.
The centerpiece of the restaurant will be a huge bar, which will serve classic Italian and craft cocktails, local brews, a bourbon selection and a curated “unpretentious” wine list.
Renovations are about halfway complete on The Brice, Kimpton Hotel Group’s first location in Coastal Georgia. The former Mulberry Inn, on 601 E. Bay St., has been closed for renovations since August 2013.
The Brice will have 145 rooms as well as 5,700 square feet of meeting space and 2,300 square feet of event space.
The building was developed around the 1860s and has been home to a livery stable, cotton warehouse, foundry and machine shop, wholesale grocer and Coca-Cola bottling plant prior to becoming a hotel in 1982.
Pacci’s Italian Kitchen + Bar will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, Monday through Saturday.
The name Pacci comes from the Italian word “carpaccio,” a popular Italian dish of thinly sliced raw beef with lemon, olive oil and garlic.
For more information, visit www.paccisavannah.com.