BRAVO! Cucina Italiana

BRAVO! Cucina Italiana in Oklahoma City. (Contributed photo)

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama – A new-to-Alabama Italian restaurant will take over Huntsville's Bridge Street Town Centre this year on the shopping center's south side near DSW in the Belk expansion area.

Columbus, Ohio-based BRAVO! Cucina Italiana, a 6,700-square-foot, full-service eatery with Roman-ruin décor and an outdoor dining patio, will open this fall at Bridge Street. It will be the national restaurant chain's first BRAVO! location in Alabama.

Bravo Brio Restaurant Group, which operates the BRAVO! restaurant brand, runs a Brio Tuscan Grille in Birmingham.

Bridge Street spokesman Van Geroux said BRAVO! currently operates 47 restaurants in 21 states. The nearest BRAVO! location to Huntsville is in Knoxville, Tenn., which is 211 miles away.

"With its unique Italian dining concept, BRAVO! Cucina Italiana will expand Bridge Street's dining options, which currently feature several full-service restaurants offering quality American, Asian and Mexican cuisine," Geroux said. "The BRAVO! concept is designed to appeal to a broad base of guests from business people and young professionals to families and empty nesters."

Geroux, who said Cucina Italiana means "Italian Kitchen," described the restaurant as casual but upscale with classic Italian dishes, as well as soups, salads and appetizers. The eatery, which will be open for lunch and dinner seven days a week, will specialize in pasta and seafood entrees, grilled and house specialties, and pizza and flatbreads, ranging from $8 to $29 each.

An open-kitchen environment will allow BRAVO! customers to watch their food cook while dining. The restaurant, which will serve weekend brunch and offer happy hour drink specials Monday through Friday, will also provide to-go and event catering options to guests.

Belk is set to open a freestanding, 170,000-square-foot department store at Bridge Street this fall. The $20 million, two-level structure, which is still under construction, will replace the location at Madison Square Mall and join its sister flagship store at Parkway Place Mall later this year.

In addition to the Belk store, there will be hundreds of new parking spaces and space available for additional buildings in the expansion area. Geroux said the names of tenants will be announced as leases are signed.

"Our leasing department is in ongoing negotiations with retailers and restaurants for the existing center, as well as in the expansion area," he said.

Geroux said customers should expect more new store announcements sometime in February as leases become fully executed.

Bridge Street recently announced Michael Kors and Pandora will open this spring at the shopping center. Michael Kors, to be located at 335 The Bridge Street, Suite 125, is a global luxury lifestyle brand that will sell women's clothing, jewelry, shoes, purses, watches and more. Pandora, 315 The Bridge Street, Site 105, will open in March and sell jewelry.

Despite several businesses shutting down at Bridge Street last year, the shopping center welcomed new retailers and restaurants in 2013, including Alumni Hall, Bar Louie, Buckle, IT'SUGAR and Rejuvenation Nail Spa.

Send Lucy Berry an email at lberry@al.com.



Updated at 4:49 p.m. Jan. 27, 2014 to include more details about Brio Tuscan Grille.

