A team of Central Florida food and beverage visionaries are partnering to create DoveCote, an innovative twist on the classic French brassiere that will occupy the site of the former Harvey’s Bistro at the Bank of America Center in downtown Orlando.
“We’re bringing an elevated approach to all-day dining at a key Orlando location,” says James Petrakis, chef/owner of Swine Family Restaurant Group (The Ravenous Pig, Cask & Larder, Swine & Sons.) “DoveCote will add new energy to downtown, along with culinary offerings not found elsewhere in Central Florida. We couldn’t be more excited about what lies ahead.”
Petrakis and his wife, Julie, are teaming up with a pair of notable players to launch DoveCote. Chef/partner Clayton Miller, a past winner of a “Best New Chef” award from Food & Wine Magazine, who also worked under Thomas Keller at French Laundry, will oversee culinary efforts at the restaurant. Miller is returning to Orlando after serving as culinary director for 50 Eggs Inc. in Miami for several years. Gene Zimmerman, a wine industry veteran and owner of The Courtesy, the popular craft cocktail lounge in downtown Orlando, will spearhead DoveCote’s beverage program.
“We knew this iconic building with the private courtyard, would be the perfect setting for an exciting and innovative restaurant,” said Shipley Hall, Managing Director of Parkway Properties, the real estate investment trust that owns the Bank of America building. “It was important for us to be patient until we found the right team who not only shared our vision for the space but could also execute at a level which would make the space a downtown staple again. DoveCote will not just be an amenity to our building, but will be an amenity to the city as well.”
While DoveCote’s menu is still in development, Miller said morning service would start at 7 o’clock with a barista station featuring grab-and-go breakfasts. French-inspired lunch and dinner menus “will be approachable with an emphasis on comfort food.” The restaurant will also feature a raw bar and regular happy hour specials.
“We want DoveCote to be a place where you can either get in and get out or get in and stay all night,” said Miller.
Zimmerman, who is creating DoveCote’s beverage program, said he is in the process of “taking a very long list of potential signature cocktails and shrinking it down to size.” The restaurant’s wine list, he said, “will lean toward boutique, family-owned vineyards that are domestic but French in style.”
Cask & Larder head brewer Larry Foor will collaborate with Zimmerman on DoveCote’s craft beer program. The rotating selection will fall heavily into French and Belgian-style varieties, including several Cask & Larder beers available exclusively at DoveCote, such as Foor’s farmhouse saison.
Plans call for a crisp, cool redesign of the 6,051-square-foot dining room, which will accommodate about 120 guests, including space for special events and corporate meetings. Drew White, whose firm lot1433 designed The Courtesy, will oversee the look of DoveCote’s interior. Galvin Design Group will direct design of the kitchen. And Gomez Construction Company is the general contractor.
In addition, DoveCote will feature tables in the center’s lobby and the private, street-side terrace. It was while sitting outside talking over ideas for the restaurant that the partners came up with its name, which is derived from the medieval term for a structure that provides shelter for game pigeons.
“Some of the building’s architectural features, like the parapets, reminded me of ancient dovecotes that I’d seen in Europe,” said Zimmerman. “We started tossing it around and it grew on us.”
Beyond its reference to a place of shelter, the name has further significance, Zimmerman said, since it offers a nod to the French term côte, which in the viniculture world means a hillside where grapes are grown.
DoveCote is slated to open in late-Spring 2016.
