Chef Zack Sklar Plans Two Restaurants for Birmingham's Former Chen Chow Brasserie

Chef Zack Sklar has his hands full with Social Kitchen & Bar, MEX, and Beau's, but it seems the founder of Peas & Carrots Hospitality is poised for more expansions. Today, DBusiness Daily News reports that Sklar will open two restaurants this summer in Birmingham's Palladium 12.

Both Arthur Avenue, an Italian restaurant, and the untitled French brasserie will be located inside the former Chen Chow Brasserie, an Asian-fusion restaurant that shuttered in July of 2013. Sklar tells DBusiness he plans to break up the space into two restaurants in order to make sure it "never feels like it's empty."

Arthur Avenue—named for a famous street in the Bronx that is populated by several "hole-in-the-wall" Italian eateries and shops—will seat about 120 people. He says customers can expect "a lot of food in red baskets," including garlic knots and mozzarella sticks made with fresh, pulled mozzarella. Main dishes will include homemade lasagnas, meatball subs, and chicken masalas.

The French restaurant will seat between 80 and 90 customers and serve "simple French food, including roast chicken, homemade fries, steak tartar, and a large selection of hamburgers." The brasserie will also serve fresh craft cocktails. Sklar is currently interviewing bartenders to design the beverage program.