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BRIO TUSCAN GRILLE
What: A "polished casual" restaurant serving authentic, northern Italian cuisine such as oven-roasted steaks, chops and seafood
Where: New store opens Oct. 22 at 7600 Gibson St., Liberty Twp., inside Liberty Center development
Phone: 513-759-4500
General Manager: Doug Thrush
Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays to Thursdays; and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Happy hour is 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Mondays to Fridays for food and drink items; and 9 p.m. to close for appetizers only. Brunch is 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
Website: www.brioitalian.com
The first Brio Tuscan Grille to open in Ohio in more than eight years starts serving diners this week at the approximately $350 million Liberty Center development.
It’s Ohio-based restaurant operator Bravo/Brio Restaurant Group Inc.’s first new Brio since the eatery opened at Dayton-area retail development The Greene in 2006, said the restaurant’s Liberty Center General Manager Doug Thrush. Brio must favor Steiner + Associates developments because the Italian steakhouse is also a staple not only at The Greene, but other Steiner-built developments such as Newport on the Levee in Northern Kentucky and Easton Town Center in the Columbus area.
But diners of the new Butler County Brio will notice some differences from the restaurant’s other locations.
“There’s not one restaurant within our company that looks the same,” Thrush said.
For starters, the Liberty Center location has two patios for outdoor dining. The south patio facing Gibson Street and the main Liberty Center entrance along Liberty Way has lounge seating and gas fire pits. The north patio overlooks one of Liberty Center’s fountain areas.
There are also two bars located in the north and south end of the roughly 6,866-square-foot restaurant, Thrush said.
Additionally, the restaurant’s north wall has a garage door-style opening that lifts for warm-weather days but closes when it’s cold.
“It’s something that we’re finding more guests want is that outdoor feel,” Thrush said.
Inside of Brio’s main entrance is also a seven-seat pizza counter where customers can pick a stool on a first-come, first-serve basis and get a close-up view of the kitchen and pizza oven, Thrush said.
The same company owns both Brio and Bravo restaurant concepts, but Thrush said the West Chester Twp. Bravo! Cucina Italiana on Waterfront Drive in The Streets of West Chester isn’t necessarily going anywhere. He pointed out that Bravo at Dayton Mall has operated in the same market as the Brio at The Greene, sometimes serving the same customers.
Bravo’s menu offers traditional Italian and pasta favorites with a flair while Brio also serves pasta as well as steak, seafood and chops, Thrush said.
Brio Liberty Center opens to the public at 11 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 22, at 7600 Gibson Street with room for seating between 350 and 400 guests.
Approximately 115 full- and part-time employees have been hired, but job openings are still available. Apply online at www.workatbrio.com.
“We’ll evolve as the community or the guest base wants,” Thrush added.
Liberty Center is the mega complex under construction now in Liberty Twp. at the crossroads of Liberty Way, Ohio 129 and Interstate 75. The center's first phase consists of just over 1 million square feet of shopping, dining, office and residential space. Anchor tenants Dick's Sporting Goods and department store Dillard's are now open.
A grand opening celebration that will see the opening of more stores and restaurants, including Brio, is scheduled to begin Oct. 22.
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