New pasta bar, crepe café and cocktail den open in Savannah

The menu features a variety of housemade pasta, including a squid ink bucatini that will remind some Savannah diners of a similar dish from Jacovino’s days helming the kitchen at Hugh Acheson’s The Florence, which closed in 2017. It also offers a variety of small plates, pizza and desserts. The restaurant has a full bar, including Negroni on draft.

Credit: Bill Dawers for the AJC

Credit: Bill Dawers for the AJC

Anticipation for the opening of Lucia Pasta Bar was fueled by Jacovino’s track record and by interest in the restoration of the old dairy. The building gave its name to the Starland neighborhood more than 25 years ago, but the rehabilitation project posed many challenges even as new businesses sprang up around it.

Reservations, which are highly recommended, can be made via the restaurant’s website.

Credit: Courtesy of Discover Black Savannah

Credit: Courtesy of Discover Black Savannah

Second annual Soul & Flavor Food Truck Fest coming to Savannah on Sept. 6

For the second year, Discover Black Savannah will host a food truck festival featuring a full day of food, music and culture that highlights Black-owned businesses.

“The Soul & Flavor Food Truck Fest is all about the food — bringing together the best tastes from across Savannah and the Lowcountry in one place,” said Discover Black Savannah co-founder and CEO Katina Wheeler. “It’s important because it gives local chefs, food trucks and entrepreneurs the spotlight they deserve while letting our community come together to experience the rich flavors that tell the story of our city.”

The event, which is free to attend, will feature 26 food trucks and several dozen other vendors, including local artisans. Several of the food trucks are based at popular brick-and-mortar establishments, like the West African restaurant Okan Bluffton and 520 Wings in Savannah.

The inaugural 2024 Soul & Flavor Food Truck Fest took place on Georgia Southern University’s Armstrong Campus on Savannah’s southside. Wheeler said that heightened interest in the event and a desire to connect small businesses with the tourist market prompted the move to Eastern Wharf at the east end of the Savannah Riverwalk.

Cocktail den debuts in downtown Savannah

Beckoning guests is a glowing red-neon fox — a symbol for the venture’s newly formed ownership group, Clever Fox Hospitality, backed by Yasser Amer. Joining him are Mark Acasio, a craft mixologist with turns behind the bar at Peacock Lounge, Ukiyo and Colleagues & Lovers, and Atlanta chef Jorom Paler, known for his omakase series at spots like Mid-City ATL and his dinner residency at Larakin.

Credit: Bill Dawers for the AJC

Credit: Bill Dawers for the AJC

Cafe Crepes Square opens new location in Savannah

Cafe Crepes Square opened in early August on the ground floor of the Matadora apartment building at the corner of Bull and East 31st streets in Savannah, about four blocks south of Forsyth Park.

The cafe has a kiosk for easy ordering and offers a wide variety of sweet and savory crepes, plus an extensive drink menu that includes coffee, tea, smoothies and mocktails. Owner Lydia Kim and her team have designed the space with a variety of seating options — a counter with a view of the kitchen, comfortable booths, and tables both inside and along the sidewalk.

This is the second location for Cafe Crepes Square. The first opened about a decade ago in Suwanee.

New TV series explores Savannah food scene

Credit: Courtesy of Firebox Initiative

Credit: Courtesy of Firebox Initiative

Annual barbecue fundraiser slated for Oct. 4 on St. Simons Island

The nonprofit Firebox Initiative, which supports service industry workers in the Golden Isles, will host its annual flagship fundraiser, BBQ on the Block, Oct. 4 in the parking lot of Frosty’s Griddle and Shake on St. Simons Island.

More than 15 pitmasters and other vendors have committed to participate in this year’s event.

“The Firebox Initiative’s BBQ on the Block isn’t just about barbecue — it’s about people coming together,” said the organization’s CEO Brad Hummel. “The barbecue community is unmatched when it comes to lifting each other up, and with the help of our friends and neighbors, we’ve been able to make a real difference for restaurant workers who needed us most.”

The event is free to attend. Proceeds from vendors will be donated to Firebox.

New cookbook store, cooking space headed to Savannah

Cookbook fans will soon have a locally owned store named Coastal Table and Tales to browse their favorite titles and hone their kitchen skills in downtown Savannah.

Founder Dawn Anderson recently announced her plans for the global cookbook bookstore and recreational cooking space, inspired by her nearly two decades living and working abroad as the spouse of a now retired U.S. diplomat.

While the retail location is still in progress, Anderson has launched a series of buzzy pop-ups that combine storytelling, cuisine and community at 208 Wine Bar and Goodfortune Market, where celebrity baker Cheryl Day was among the attendees.