New Italian restaurant about to open in Forsyth

A restauranteur with 20 years experience is planning to open an Italian eatery in Forsyth next week.

Minori’s Italian Ristorante is expected to open Tuesday at 22 West Main St. at the corner of S. Jackson St.

“Italian is my heritage,” said co-owner Chelsea Larkin, whose maiden name is Minori. “I specialized in Italian food in college and it’s something I’ve always wanted to do.”

It will be open 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday and 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The lunch menu ends at 3 p.m. The dinner menu only will be offered all day Saturday. The restaurant also offers catering services throughout Middle Georgia.

The lunch and dinner menus, which are available on the restaurant’s Facebook page, include a variety of Italian specialties using Sicilian and northern Italian techniques, she said.

The 4,000-square-foot restaurant is in the space formerly occupied by The Prime Palate buffet and the Royal Palm Hotel was above. The upper level is being renovated into loft apartments by the building owner.

The original brick walls have been exposed in the building constructed in 1890, she said.

“We are trying to keep a lot of the historical features, but we’ve updated it with all new electrical, new plumbing, new lighting and new fixtures and doors,” she said.

The space includes a private-event room that will seat 50 people. The entire restaurant will hold about 150. Plans are to offer beer and wine, but that may not be available until after the first of the year.

Minori’s is expected to employ a total of about 20 workers, and “we are still looking for servers, hostesses and bus boys,” Larkin said. Anyone interested in a job may apply 2-4 p.m. Monday-Friday at the restaurant or call 478-993-2300.

Larkin, who has lived in Monroe County about four years, has a bachelor’s degree in culinary arts from the Art Institute of Atlanta.

“I’ve always worked in restaurant management,” she said. “This will be my second endeavor as an owner.”

This story was originally published November 28, 2017 at 6:30 PM with the headline "New Italian restaurant about to open in Forsyth."