Gasp! Monti’s is closed?
The longtime Montgomery Village restaurant loved by lunching ladies and Sunday night prime ribbers is getting a much-needed rejuvenation over the next several months, according to owners Mark and Terri Stark. It will be shuttered — temporarily — as major cosmetic upgrades move forward.
“She’s getting a much-needed face-lift to provide a better dining environment,” said Terri Stark, whose restaurant group includes the recently-opened Augie’s in Santa Rosa, Willi’s Wine Bar, Bird and Bottle, Grossman’s, Willi’s Seafood, Bravas and Stark’s Steak and Seafood. Improvements to the restaurant, which opened in 2004, include new flooring, bar tops, bathrooms, expanded patios, new furniture and a new kitchen. Watch for lots of Mediterranean blue and yellow with rattan finishes.
The menu will maintain its focus on contemporary Mediterranean dishes and keep fan favorites like the lamb burger, pizzas, and rosemary fries, but it will also add some homemade pasta and grilled fish.
Monti’s staff have been relocated to the Stark’s other restaurants during the renovation but will return when it reopens this summer.
“Monti’s isn’t broken, it just needs some much-deserved love,” Stark said.
The change comes as much of the nearly 75-year-old outdoor shopping center undergoes updates and revamps, including new stores and restaurants, including the recently-opened Shake Shack.