Cameron Mitchell’s upcoming German Village restaurant now has a name: Cento.
The restaurant is expected to open at 595 S. 3rd St., possibly as early as late this year.
The Columbus-based restaurant company asked its associates for name suggestions. Corporate Chef Jamie Kline’s was the ultimate choice.
Cento (pronounced CH-ENTO, not SEN-TOH) is Italian for 100. The planned fine dining Italian restaurant will be the 100th location the company has opened in its 29 years.
(That 100 restaurant figure includes 22 Mitchell’s Fish Market and Mitchell’s Steakhouse locations that were sold in 2007 as well as the handful of restaurants the company has closed over its nearly three decades.)
President and COO David Miller previously described the German Village concept as an an intimate space with a fine dining menu of classic Italian cuisine. Further food and beverage details will be shared closer to opening.
The space, which had been G. Michael’s Bistro & Bar, is beginning to take shape.
The German Village Commission earlier this month gave its blessing to the patio plans for the project.
Creating the outdoor space will involve eliminating the small, six-space parking lot that the previous restaurant used. The current 600-square-foot patio will be expanded to more than 1,800 square feet. A greenery-covered fence along the sidewalk, a pergola covering part of the outdoor space and a fountain feature are in the plans.
Cameron Mitchell Restaurants has more than 60 locations today, including more than 20 local restaurants open across 15 brands, plus the 17-unit Ocean Prime chain and the 22-location Rusty Bucket Restaurant and Tavern sister company.
Beyond Cento, other new restaurants in development include Valentina’s, another Italian concept coming to Bridge Park in Dublin, and a new The Pearl restaurant in Tampa, Florida, the first expansion of that brand outside Central Ohio.
Recent additions in the past year-plus have included El Segundo Mexican Kitchen in the Short North, Del Mar Naples in Florida and both an Ocean Prime and the Prime Social Rooftop in Kansas City.