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The Big Kitchen, from the owners of Tazza Kitchen, is set to open mid-January at 1600 Altamont Ave.
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Beer and wine will be available in this space as well as grab-and-go items.
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A large garage-style window will allow people driving through the space to peek in and see the culinary team at work.
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The Big Kitchen drive-thru garage door, where customers will exit after picking up their meals
What do Will Longoria, best known for his kitchen skills at Rogue, Zach Leasure, former executive sous chef at Tail up Goat, and Danielle Goodreau, a onetime Sharper Palate catering team member who worked at the shuttered Rancho T under Tuffy Stone and Ed Vasaio, have in common? Other than an extensive collection of culinary achievements, the trio most recently have been heading menu development of The Big Kitchen, a new drive-in prepared meal service from the owners of Tazza Kitchen set to open in mid-January at 1600 Altamont Ave.
The Big Kitchen has been a big team effort, led by partners Susan and John Davenport, Jeff Grant, and John Haggai, as well as their heavy-hitting culinary team also including Michael Sturgis, Mitch Hughes, Chris Eaton and seasoned Tazza employees. The focus: getting it right.
“The idea is to make it as convenient as possible to have a good, solid meal at home; that’s our purpose,” says Susan Davenport. “We’ve been doing a ton of research on execution.”
The research has also meant tracking down the right chefs for the job. Davenport believes Goodreau's catering background, combined with the fine-dining experience of Longoria and Leasure, gives The Big Kitchen an edge.
“[Goodreau's] got a great palate, understands unique flavors that are also accessible and delicious, and I think her knowledge of how you translate a recipe into something that feeds a lot of people and works well is really important,” says Davenport. “We’re also excited to bring on a female chef.”
Does the thought of cooking seem like a burden? The Big Kitchen is here to help.
Through an online platform, customers can order prepared meals and schedule a pickup or delivery time. All meals are made from scratch, fully prepared and complete with heating instructions so they can be popped in the oven or microwave. The goal is to provide ease for guests and allow them to ditch cooking yet still enjoy a high-quality, affordable meal with a focus on locally sourced meats, produce and other ingredients.
For those familiar with Brew-Thru — the drive-thru convenience store and beer palace popular in the Outer Banks of North Carolina — envision a similar concept, but trade your chips and soda for buttermilk-brined fried chicken and a thoughtfully curated beer and wine selection. When driving through the space, guests can even peek into the open kitchen and spot the culinary team at work through the glass viewing door.
Tazza Kitchen is big on smoked meats and other dishes, and The Big Kitchen follows suit. Smokehouse BBQ offerings range from Springer Mountain pulled chicken to brisket and house-made chicken sausage. Main dishes, from $9.99 to $15.99, serve approximately two people and include za'atar salmon and baked spaghetti and meatballs, along with vegetarian options such as brick-oven spaghetti squash or smoked tofu and curry butternut squash.
The menu offers a number of salads, soups, sides, burritos and, of course, pizza — another Tazza specialty — including a spicy sausage and black pepper-honey pie and a margherita with fresh basil.
The Big Kitchen has made efforts to reduce waste and manage it sustainably — the majority of packaging for the food will be made of compostable materials. They will also offer a take-back program for customers where they can simply return the packaging to The Big Kitchen to be composted, or it can be picked up during the next order.
“It’s a new business for us, a new model, and we’re really excited about it,” says Davenport. “We want the customer service to be right, and we’ve been working a lot to focus on sustainable and compostable packaging.”
The Big Kitchen plans to debut new menu items every few weeks, along with rotating seasonal items. There will also be grab-and-go items available for purchase, and the hope is that some of the new recipes will also be introduced at Tazza Kitchen locations as well.
The Big Kitchen team suggests ordering at least one hour in advance for pickup orders, while delivery orders must be placed the night before by 10 p.m. There is a required minimum of $15 for pickup orders and $30 for delivery orders (along with a $3.95 delivery fee).
Another cure for a long, tiresome day customers will find at The Big Kitchen: alcoholic beverages. The drive-in space will offer beer and wine available for purchase, but it does require guests to get out of their vehicle and show ID.
"We will offer a professionally sourced selection of 25 to 30 handcrafted wines from prime wine-growing regions in Europe and the Americas, as well as regional and national craft, domestic and imported beers," says partner Haggai.
The Big Kitchen plans to launch delivery service in mid-February, and the preliminary delivery area includes Scott’s Addition and the area bounded by Lombardy, North Side, Three Chopt/Glenside and the James River.
The Big Kitchen will be open daily from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
