Jake Grove

jake.grove@independentmail.com

New student housing projects are popping up all over Clemson University these days, but one real estate firm is looking to combine that need with a restaurant expected to serve the city of Clemson, the university as well as all those visitors coming to see the national champion Clemson Tigers this fall.

Stonemont Financial Group, a real estate investment firm out of Atlanta, is preparing to include an Amici restaurant franchise in its Plaza One89 student housing with 45 beds this fall. The two groups have come to an agreement to build 20 Amici restaurants throughout North and South Carolina with the first coming in time for football season this year.

"This is a first for us to be out of (Georgia)," said Amici CEO Mike Torino. "We have seven restaurants throughout Georgia with an eighth opening in a couple weeks. And when Stonemont was looking for a restaurant to put on the first floor of its student housing project, it was the right fit."

Mike Torino, along with his son, Chris Torino, created Amici 24 years ago. They have locations in Athens, Conyers, Covington. Madison, Monroe, Milledgeville, Lake Oconee and, soon, Gainesville, all in Georgia. But they were looking to expand that range when Dusten Estes and Zack Markwell of Stonemont Financial came calling.

According to Estes, Stonemont was looking at several restaurants in an effort to add something dynamic to their housing properties at campuses in North and South Carolina.

And with a couple of their employees having come up at the University of Georgia, where Amici is part of the culture, it was a no-brainer.

"They fit the bill of what we wanted," Estes said. "We thought about what Clemson would want and, being so close to the stadium, pizza, wings and beer in a casual environment was that fit."

Based on artist renderings of the property, Amici will go in a 3,600 square-foot piece of the Plaza One89 project. Located at 189 Old Greenville Highway and the former site of Mellow Mushroom in Clemson, its proximity to campus, downtown and, most importantly, Death Valley, provides an ideal spot for tailgating, game-day festivities and a place where residents, students and visiting families can go for the eateries famed pizza, wings and full bar.

The restaurant will incorporate an open-air concept with large windows that open into a patio area as well as a second-floor balcony. There will also be a private room for meetings and parties with an open-air component.

"We have a tagline (at Amici) that is 'pizza, wings and friends.'" said Mike Torino. "Amici means friends in Italian. They come together, sit around the table and enjoy themselves and the delicious food and great service."

The first of Stonemont's Amici franchises should open in time for football season this fall. Stonemont also expects to open other campus locations within student housing in Columbia, Charleston and Raleigh-Durham in the future.

"Each environment of Amici in Georgia is different and we want it to fit in each community," Estes said.

For more on Amici restaurants, including a menu, go to www.amici-cafe.com/.