Carrabba—not Carrabba’s—enters fast casual fray

Check with Johnny Carrabba if you think it might be too late to get into the fast casual game. Even though he cashed in big time when he sold his namesake Italian casual dining standout Carrabba’s Italian Grill to OSI Restaurant Partners, he’s just opened Mia’s Table in Houston. It’s a fast-casual operation that imparts a Texas spin to a mainstream sandwich menu.

Carrabba didn’t open Mia’s in order to get back into the restaurant game. He was still in it. A provision of the OSI deal allowed him to retain control of the original two Carrabba’s Italian Grill units in Houston. Also, he and his uncle, chain cofounder Damian Mandola, still enjoy plenty of food world notoriety, thanks their PBS cooking shows, Cucina Amore and Cucina Sicilia, and three cookbooks. If you’re wondering what the life of a successful restaurant entrepreneur looks like when all of his dreams come true, Johnny Carrabba is your guy.

But even he wants to give the burgeoning fast causal segment a try. The new Mia’s Table—it’s named after his daughter—opened in May very near the site of the original Carrabba’s Italian Grill. It’s the first of three new restaurant ventures Carrabba will open in the same neighborhood in Houston.

One is Carrabba’s Johnny IV, named after his son. It’s meant to replace the original Carrabba’s Italian Grill and will be housed in a new building. It’s targeted to open in the fall. Also scheduled to debut in this area next year is Grace, an upscale restaurant named after Carrabba’s mother.

Mia’s is located in the same neighborhood, just one block from the original. But even though Carrabba has prodigious experience in preparing and serving Italian food, he went with an all-American menu for Mia’s.

Arriving customers step up to a counter, fast-casual style, and order their meal, which is prepared to order and delivered to their table. Their choices include five burgers served with fries, $9.50 and up; three sandwiches served with sweet potato fries, including a snapper on ciabatta that goes for $15; three baskets (fried chicken with jalapeno cream gravy, $12 with fries and Texas toast); four salads and two tacos. 

The Texas effect comes into play on the “from the Lil’ Red smoker” section of the menu. Guests can select either a pulled pork or pulled chicken sandwich ($9 each); St. Louis BBQ ribs ($14); or half a BBQ chicken for $11. These items come with two sides chosen from among cole slaw, potato salad or baked beans. The eight-item side dish list includes chips & queso for $4.50.

Beverage options include shakes and malts for $4; bottled soda ($2) and fountain drinks ($2.25); and bottled and draught beer. Dessert options are hot cookies ($1.50) and RoRo’s cupcakes ($2). Red and white wines are also available.

Carrabba is the second respected Italian restaurateur to take a crack at the fast casual segment, the first being Chris Doody, one of the founders of the Brio/Bravo concept. His Piada concept is loosely akin to an Italian version of Chipotle, which taps into his previous operating expertise in the Italian restaurant business. With Mia’s, Carrabba is going with a straightforward American menu that doesn’t play directly into his prodigious Italian food background. We wouldn’t bet against him—let’s face it, this guy knows how to run a good restaurant—but it will be interesting to see which of these two approaches plays best in the fast casual marketplace. Piada has a good head start; we’ll keep an eye on Mia’s Table to see how well it progresses.