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Earlier this month, Eater Detroit reported via the Detroit Free Press that the city’s iconic Joe Muer Seafood restaurant would be expanding to Nashville late next year in tandem with Las Vegas eatery Andiamo Italian Steakhouse, both of which are owned by Joe Vicari Restaurant Group. A location had not yet been revealed, but we now know that they are set to be the latest additions to the SoBro dining scene.
Joe Vicari, president and CEO of the group, tells Eater that they are “99 percent there on a lease agreement” for approximately 9,000 square feet of space in the Cambria Hotels & Suites currently under construction. Located at 118 8th Avenue South, just steps away from the Music City Center, the combination Joe Muer Seafood/Andiamo Italian restaurant will have a shared lobby which will then split into the two separate dining spaces, with each featuring its own separate bar. The restaurants will share one large kitchen and will each have seating for around 150 guests. A November 2017 opening is the current target date.
Vicari says that his interest in expanding to Nashville first started three years ago when he visited for the CMA Awards. Impressed by what he saw happening with the city, he says he “started getting serious” looking for a location about two years ago, and is very excited about the expansion.
Originally opened in 1929, Joe Muer was a Motor City landmark for decades, until it was forced to close in 1998. But the eatery reopened in 2012, in a new location and to overall rave reviews, after Vicari purchased the rights to the restaurant in 2011. True to its name, it serves up a seafood-heavy menu of starters, daily specials and entrees seven days a week, with lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch options.
Andiamo Italian Steakhouse, located in The D Las Vegas casino hotel, is a pumped up version of Vicari’s popular Andiamo, which currently has nine locations in and around the Detroit area. The Vegas version offers up a menu of Italian and steakhouse favorites, along with a large wine list, in a swanky setting.
If all goes as planned, Vicari plans to roll out the dual concept in other cities as well.
