Noble Crust, a hip north St. Petersburg restaurant featuring Italian-Southern fusion, is coming to the Shops at Wiregrass mall.
Wiregrass general manager Greg Lenners confirmed that the restaurant, created by the same folks who brought the Bonefish Grill to Wesley Chapel, has signed a lease and begun construction on its 3,200-sq.-ft. location, which will be right next to Pinchers Crab Shack.
The Noble Crust team includes TJ Theilbar and Tim Curci, who helped develop Bonefish Grill and Hops Grill and Bar, executive chef Rob Reinsmith and financial consultant Jeff Strouse.
Theilbar told us in June he was in negotiations, and that “We have some very specific requests as far as the look trying to work through the logistics.” Those issues have all been resolved and plans to open the restaurant by the end of the year are underway.
The Noble Crust website says it is hoping for a Spring, 2017 opening.
The eatery has received mostly rave reviews since opening its St. Petersburg location in Feb., 2015.
Although the name of the restaurant suggests a pizza place, and Noble Crust does serve different versions of the Italian pie, it is much more than that under the direction of Reinsmith.
“Everything we do is in house and from scratch,’’ Theilbar said.
Noble Crust’s brunch has been voted one of Tampa Bay’s best by various publications, and it features items such as deviled eggs, ricotta gnocchi, Lemon Ricotta pancakes, Bronzed Salmon Benny and fried chicken and waffles.
Some of the restaurant’s dinner favorites include its popular beef-and-veal meatballs, southern fried chicken, shrimp and grits, sweet potato ravioli and rigatoni and short rib ragu.
And of course, there are pizzas, like the Noble Pig, which features sweet fennel sausage, spicy soppressata and pickled cherry peppers, and the Roasted Mushroom, with shiitake and oyster mushrooms. Gluten-free crust is also available.
The menu changes often, says Theilbar, who adds that the restaurant employs an off-site production kitchen where all of its fresh pasta, sauces and cured meets are produced. A larger, 7,000-sq.ft.facility is being built off Racetrack Rd. in Tampa.
To learn more about Noble Crust, visit noble-crust.com.
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