WESTCHASE -- Patrick Cottrell figured it was time to split the check at his restaurant.
As owner of the former seafood restaurant Catch 23, he decided to renovate his business. Not only did he get a whole new concept of a restaurant, he ended up getting two -- by splitting Catch 23 into Memo Modern Italian and Vudu Tacos, both of which opened at 10103 Montague St. on Nov. 12.
"I really had always just wanted (to own) a good, modern Italian restaurant because it's difficult to get or find that around here," said Cottrell, a former chef who bought Catch 23 in late 2019. "Just an Italian restaurant with real, authentic food and ingredients, but we noticed with (Catch 23), the bar was always full, but sometimes not all the tables.
"Splitting it into two restaurants -- which share a kitchen -- allowed us to have two concepts, both with its own bar, where one (with tacos) was a little more quick-in, quick-out eats with drinks and another where it's more a casual dining setting, where you take a more slow approach to the meal and experience.
"It really is two different types of concepts and restaurants here," Cottrell said.
However, when he first purchased Catch 23, he was persuaded by feedback, residents and longtime regulars not to change concepts, to keep it a dining experience of seafood and steaks, which it had been since its original opening.
"As soon as I bought it," he added, "people were like, 'You can't get rid of Catch (23), you have to keep it, and even then I thought, well, it had been here for so long that maybe it was a good idea to keep, just redo the inside.
"So, I held off, and that was a mistake. I should have changed it right off the bat. Seafood prices jumped up and I decided about a year ago to change it to two concepts, and so far, everyone has been really receptive to the new restaurants."
While Cottrell has always had a desire to have his own Italian restaurant, even dating back to when he was a chef at The Breakers, a luxury resort in Palm Beach, he turned to gourmet fusion tacos for the second restaurant concept. He figured it was a popular concept, with different restaurants, food trucks and other eateries switching or adding those items to menus.
"I love Rocco's Tacos (& Tequila Bar) and wanted to have a Rocco's," Cottrell said, referring to the Mexican restaurant in Westshore. "Everyone seems to be bringing in their own take on tacos, so I figured it would be popular to not be like places like Tijuana Flats or something like that."
Even after building out both menus himself, Cottrell continues to improve his restaurants, especially on the Memo Modern Italian side. He notes that he spent time in Italy doing plenty of research (and eating), looking for fresh ingredients and inspiration for new dishes. In fact, he also purchased a brand-new Italian oven and had it shipped back to the States to put in the kitchen.
"I love Italian food, especially when the ingredients are fresh, like they are always going to be here," he said. "In a neighborhood restaurant, not everyone is going to want to come out and spend $48 on a dish. My goal is to keep everything under $28 on the menu, except for a few obvious items. Our menu is a little driven by a la carte, as well, so you can have small or larger dishes because I wanted to create an environment where people, if they want, can come and have small plates at the bar, but also sit down and have a full, casual menu.
"In all, we split the dining experience here into two new things where we're excited about both."