For the last few years, 11 N. Allen St. has been the site of food cart pop-ups and residencies from El Grito and Underground Food Collective. Later this summer, the space will open as a fully fledged restaurant for the first time since 2016.

The Heights Kitchen is a partnership from Underground Food Collective veterans Jonny Hunter and Mel Trudeau plus married couple Evan Gruzis and Nicole Rogers. Hunter and Trudeau, both of Forequarter, will serve as executive chef and front-of-house manager, respectively; Gruzis and Rogers own the building and will also serve as managers.

The restaurant will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner; it will also feature a retail counter selling prepared foods, fresh baked goods, charcuterie from Underground Meats and a selection of artisan cheeses. Wine and beer will be available, and the restaurant will also offer carry-out and eventually delivery. The name is a reference to the University Heights neighborhood in which the restaurant resides.

“The concept is essentially ‘New American,’” Gruzis says. “It will be the same quality as other [Underground] restaurants like Forequarter, but scaled for the neighborhood — more family-friendly, and a little bit more casual.”

Gruzis and Rogers bought the property at the end of 2016 and have been working on a buildout since November 2017. Both Wisconsin natives, the couple previously lived in New York and moved back to Madison a few years ago to start a family. Gruzis met Hunter during their time as undergraduates at UW-Madison and met Trudeau when she worked at Cafe Montmartre.

Gruzis says the remodel has taken a long time because the space is “radically changing” from its previous life as a coffee house. “Besides the patio revamp, we relocated the restrooms to a new addition and expanded the interior so the place will have a new, open feel,” he says.

The menu is still in the works, but Gruzis says the focus will be on local ingredients in keeping with the farm-to-table movement. A sample menu submitted to the city of Madison includes egg dishes and a rotating coffee selection for breakfast; soups, salads and sandwiches for lunch; larger entrees like broiler chicken, blade steak, broiled trout and ramp cavatelli for dinner.

“The focus is going to be really high quality ingredients that aren’t overworked,” Gruzis says. “We’re doing ambitious things, flavors you’d see at Forequarter, but at a price point that you can come a couple times a week.”

The Underground food truck will be parked outside the restaurant on Thursday nights through the early summer, offering diners a preview of what The Heights will eventually offer while Hunter workshops the menu. Check their social media pages for updates. Gruzis hopes to open by midsummer, or as he puts it, “July-gust.”