Cartenuto Leaves Cantinetta for Mississippi

Brian Cartenuto

Chef Brian Cartenuto gets on a plane bound for Jackson, Mississippi early next week. He has already left Cantinetta and accepted a job at CHAR restaurant, a popular Chicago-style steakhouse. "Char has been open for about 8 years doing $4 million a year in sales, by no means struggling," says Cartenuto. "They just want to change the concept from a thriving steakhouse to a thriving chef-driven concept. I am sad to leave Seattle, but as a true southern boy, I am excited to be closer to my family and make Char into a destination, not only in Mississippi, but south of the Mason-Dixon Line."

Who will fill his spot in the kitchen?

"Cantinetta Wallingford has been left in the hands of Emran (Chowdhury), the sous chef I hired who recently married Lorna (Stokes), the pastry chef. Together, they are going to continue to make the Wallingford location strong."

Cartenuto says the Bellevue Cantinetta is still on track for a summer opening. "It is a beautiful space: 18-foot ceilings, about 100-square feet bigger than Wallingford, a beautiful bar that will seat 12. It has the same feel of the original location and is staying true to the concept."

He says the new spot should be up and running by end of August.