A standout on the recently revamped menu, the cavatelli with fava beans, snap peas, mint and house-made ricotta, will be sorely missed this summer. (Photo by Stephanie Breijo)
“Yesterday was a bit doom and gloom,” says J. Frank, one of the co-collaborators of Rancho T: the Fan restaurant which closed quietly yesterday at 1 N. Morris St.. “Today, we have all new ideas.”
Many of the "we" in question — Frank, co-owners Ed Vasaio, Tuffy Stone and Leslie Stone, and executive chef Danielle Goodreau — met today about the restaurant's future, and over a long lunch came up with possibilities and concepts to launch in the space this fall. While they don’t know what is ahead, it won't be Rancho T, which opened as a Latin American-slanted restaurant in May of 2015. The concept, the name, everything will change.
“We knew the restaurant just wasn’t where it should be, even when Aaron [Cross] was there,” says Frank. “But Tuffy is brilliant and has such great ideas, a national concept, a local something. I am feeling very positive today.”
The spot recently overhauled its concept in May of 2016 when executive chef Aaron Cross bowed out. Goodreau was brought onboard, a Richmond native who attended Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Chicago and worked in San Francisco's The Alembic Bar, as well as Marcus Samuelsson's now shuttered C-House restaurant in Chicago. Her menu, brief as its longevity was, was full of creative New American dishes. Down the road, the group hopes she will stay with them. However, Frank said he hadn’t had the opportunity to ask her what she might do.
The spot won't sit empty over the summer, though. Follow Rancho T on social media for news on future pop-ups in the space.
