North eatery to get makeover

When it reopens Sept. 19, the restaurant will have a decidedly more casual feel and attitude - and a new name: North Fattoria Italiana.

"It's an Italian farmhouse. It's going to look like an Italian farmhouse. It's very soft," Fox said Thursday.

Fattoria means "farm" in Italian, and the emphasis will be on handcrafted fare, including hand-tossed pizzas and handmade pastas created in an exhibition kitchen situated in the dining room. The menu of Tuscan farmhouse fare was crafted by Fox corporate executive chef Christopher Curtiss, who clocked time in several Phoenix-area restaurants, including the James Beard-nominated Restaurant Noca. The menu includes hand-cured meats sliced paper-thin on a hand-cranked Berkel slicer for salumi boards; stone-fired artisan pizzas; and signature pasta dishes including ricotta gnocchi served with beef short ribs and a horseradish crema. Prices range from $7 to $18.

This will be the second North Fattoria Italiana in Fox's stable of boutique restaurants. He opened the first in Scottsdale last fall.

"We had an opportunity to build a new North last October, and we were actually able to build it ground up," he said. "We decided that if we're going to build North today and had no influence from the original North brand, what would it look like? We came up with a new look, and I hired a new chef team. We opened in Phoenix and it's going great - going gangbusters. So we decided we wanted to bring that to Tucson."

The change in direction follows the shift in Tucson's dining culture, which since the recession has leaned more heavily on casual, Fox said. That wasn't the case when North opened at La Encantada in fall 2003 and quickly built a reputation as the place to be and be seen. In the years since, a number of more casual-leaning restaurants have opened that have changed the dining tempo.

In addition to a menu remake, North will undergo an $800,000 redesign, from its furniture inside and out to its layout. The large picture windows will remain, although the cascading window in the bar area will be divided into three sections to open up the outside patio. The interior will be a blend of repurposed wood, galvanized metals and brick, according to a press release. The patio, decked out in new red metal furniture and dotted with citrus trees, will feature misters, heaters and fire pits to make it more inviting year-round. The building also will be wrapped in boldly striped awnings to deflect the afternoon sun.

Fox said the investment is more than he spent to open the restaurant nine years ago.

North is at La Encantada, 2995 E. Skyline Drive. It is open for lunch daily from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and for dinner from 4 to 10 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays, and from 4 to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. When it reopens, it will offer a brunch menu from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.

If you go

North Modern Italian Cuisine is auctioning off its furnishings beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday (viewing begins at 8) at the restaurant, 2995 E. Skyline Drive in La Encantada. Among the items up for bid: Restaurant and bar furniture and booths, dining chairs, bar stools, high-top tables and wood benches, and patio furniture. Cash and cashier's checks only.

• Details: www.auctionzip.com/Listings/1488554.html

Contact reporter Cathalena E. Burch at cburch@azstarnet.com or 573-4642.