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Duo behind Contigo and Locale set to open new comfort food restaurant this week

Sep 17, 2025
Sep 17, 2025

The empty, unassuming building next to the Whole Foods grocery store in the Rancho Center has a lot of history.

It started out as a department store and soda shop back in the 1950s, sitting in the retail center designed by renowned local architect Cecil H. “Cookie” Moore.

Decades later it became the home for various local restaurants including Presidio Grill and Cuvée World Bistro.

It even housed memory foam mattresses as a Mattress Firm. Most recently, it would reanimate each fall as a Spirit Halloween, filled with funky costumes and scary, life-size skeletons.

But now, the bags of costumes and pumpkins have gone away for good, and the historic building is going back to its restaurant roots.

Deborah Tenino and Nick Kreutz have transformed the spot at 3352 E. Speedway into Miramonte, a new restaurant that aims to elevate classic American and comfort food dishes.

You may recognize Tenino and Kreutz as the masterminds behind local favorites Contigo Latino Kitchen, 3770 E. Sunrise Drive, and Locale Neighborhood Italian, 60 N. Alvernon Way.

Now with Miramonte, they are not only adding another notch to their impressive restaurant lineup, but are also branching out into a new type of cuisine.

Since Kreutz specializes in comfort food and classic American dishes such as roasted chicken, cornbread and ribs, the duo said it made sense for their new venture to highlight his talents, reinventing these beloved meals into something fun and fresh.

Customers can expect to see appetizers such as grilled artichokes, freshly baked cornbread and house-made onion dip.

For the entrées, you’ll be able to fill up on dishes including pan-seared salmon, oyster platters, Delmonico steak, crispy fried chicken sandwiches, baby back ribs and so much more.

Make sure to save room for dessert, to try their rotating selection of pies, including key lime, triple coconut cream and Oreo.

In a sea of fast casual restaurants, the duo is hoping to bring a fun, sit down restaurant to midtown. Whether you’re feeling hungry after catching a movie at The Loft Cinema, or want to celebrate a Wildcats basketball victory, Miramonte will be open and ready to serve up delicious meals.