Piedmont sold to Coon Rock Farm/Zely & Ritz folks

From News&Observer.com:

Durham’s Piedmont restaurant has been bought by the Eno Hospitality Group, the folks behind Coon Rock Farm and Raleigh’s Zely & Ritz restaurant.

Folks have been waiting for Richard Holcomb, his wife, Jamie DeMent, and their other partners to open Eno Restaurant and Market in downtown Durham. Chef Marco Shaw moved to Durham from Portland to help open that restaurant. But that restaurant opening has been repeatedly delayed.

DeMent says they were approached by Andy Magowan, the only remaining original owner of Piedmont about buying the restaurant. The other original owners, Drew Brown and Abby Pearce, have moved onto other endeavors.

“It was the perfect opportunity for us,” DeMent says.

UPDATE: DeMent says they put the Eno efforts on hold while they finished the deal regarding Piedmont. She says they are now focused on trying to finish finding investors for the Eno project. Shaw starts cooking TONIGHT at Piedmont.

SECOND UPDATE: Andy Magowan sent me a statement via e-mail about his future plans: “I’m leaving Piedmont in order to start a beer-garden/restaurant in Durham, a smaller place with a large outdoor seating area. I will serve simple but high-quality, seasonal, all-American food, and will maintain my interest in and support for local foods & farmers.”

DeMent says Magowan and Shaw will work together for one week during the transition.

Today we get this press release:

Eno Hospitality Group purchases Piedmont Restaurant, in Durham NC

[August 12, 2010, Durham, NC –] Marco Shaw, one of the country’s most respected farm-to-table chefs and a partner in Eno Hospitality Group, will take over day-to-day operations at Piedmont Restaurant in Durham, NC (401 Foster Street, Durham, NC 919-683-1213). Piedmont has been open since 2006 and serves classic Northern Italian Cuisine made with locally raised North Carolina ingredients. The menu focuses on fresh pasta and house cured charcuterie. The new ownership will allow Piedmont to source directly from the Eno Hospitality partner farm, Coon Rock Farm.

Jamie DeMent, Eno Hospitality partner, announced the news today, saying, “Piedmont fits perfectly within our farm-to-table model. We have Zely & Ritz in Raleigh. We are working to open Eno Restaurant & Market with a regionally focused menu and Piedmont allows us to branch into traditonal Italian cuisine.” Chef Marco Shaw said “I have always been attracted to the simplicity, seasonality and sensibility of Italian cooking. I cannot wait to prepare Coon Rock’s finest in rustic Italian dishes.”

Previously, Marco Shaw was the chef-owner of Fife Restaurant in Portland, Oregon where he was praised for his casual, ingredient-driven menu which he changed daily based on ingredients available within 100 miles. Gourmet Magazine named Fife one of “America’s Best Farm-to-Table Restaurants” in 2008, and offered, “Chef-owner Marco Shaw’s farm-to-table credentials are outstanding, even for Portland… for eleven months of the year all of the produce, meat, and fish on the menu comes from sustainable or organic regional farms.” Every year since opening in December 2002, The Oregonianfeatured Fife Restaurant as one of Portland’s “best restaurants.”

Throughout Shaw’s culinary career he has been active in his community and in the nation’s farm-to-table movement. Shaw was a Board Member of Portland’s ‘Plate & Pitchfork’ dinner series – a non-profit supporting sustainable agriculture, and appeared in “The Farm to Table Cookbook: The Art of Eating Locally,” among others.

Prior to opening Fife Restaurant, Shaw was the Executive Chef of one of Portland’s most beloved rustic Italian restaurants, Tuscany Grill. Shaw moved to Portland after working in celebrated restaurants around the country in New York City, Santa Fe and New Orleans.

Shaw, who is from Washington, DC, lives in Durham, NC with his wife and two young daughters.

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