Giorgios Bakatsias is not slowing down.
Baktasias, a James Beard nominee, has a studied restaurant practice—he’s been in the industry more than 30 years—but over the past few years, that practice has become prolific with a spat of new restaurant openings and announcements: Rosewater Kitchen & Bar and East End Bistro in Raleigh; Krill in Durham; and Osteria Giorgio and a revamped Kipos in Chapel Hill.
Ten restaurants and cafes are currently open. Over the years, Bakatsias’s empire has seen a few closures, too, though perhaps fewer than the average restauranteur during a recession-to-pandemic decade: Cary’s Café Giorgio closed in 2010, and Chapel Hill’s City Kitchen and Asheville’s Golden Fleece (the lone GHG Asheville outpost) closed in 2020.
As 2021 rounds the corner into 2022 and Bakatsias prepares to open restaurants 11 and 12, he’s also announcing two more: Las Ramblas, a Spanish tapas bar, and Giorgio Pizza Bar. Both are slated to open in Park & Market in North Hills (near Rosewater Kitchen & Bar) in 2022. Las Ramblas and Giorgio Pizza Bar are both Kane Realty projects.
“North Hills diners have been very welcoming to us, and we have found a strong partner in John Kane and Kane Realty. We believe in their plans for North Hills and are excited they’ve invited us to deliver more signature GHG concepts, and be part of their growth,” Bakatsias wrote in a press release.
Rosewater Kitchen & Bar, John Kane added, had been a “wonderful addition to the North Hills’ restaurant scene.”
Las Ramblas, located at 141 Park, is named for Barcelona’s “Las Ramblas” culinary boulevard and will have seating for 90 indoors and 30 outdoors; Giorgio Pizza Bar, located at the same address, will serve “thin crust sourdough pizzas….plus seasonal salads, and vegetable and pasta dishes slow-cooked in earthen clay pots.” It will have seating for 100 indoors and 25 outdoors.
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