dishinƂ with
Managing Partner Brandon Carr of Motto
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by Laura Zolman Kirk | by Sarah Arneson
FTER FOUR SQUARE RESTAURANT
owners Shane Ingram and Elizabeth Woodhouse decided to close the business and retire, Brandon Carr – manager of the fine dining establishment since its opening day 16 years ago – was looking for something new. Meanwhile the owners of Italian restaurant Lucia, Kevin and Stacey Jennings, heard about Four Square’s closing. Knowing they wanted to rebrand Lucia’s concept, they reached out to Brandon, who started his new position in July at the restaurant, now named Motto, working alongside Chef James Huff, who recently moved here from Washington, D.C. We chatted with Brandon about transitions: his own from Four Square to Motto, the shift in concept and the changing nature of Motto’s new menu.
Describe the difference between Lucia and Motto.
The obvious difference is that Lucia was an Italian restaurant, and we are not. The menu itself will kind of be in a constant flux; it’s going to be seasonally influenced and locally sourced, not necessarily from Durham County or North Carolina, but regionally. We’re not trying be a Southern or French restaurant; it’s whatever Chef wants to bring in. We source the best ingredients we can and let the kitchen’s execution allow the ingredients to really shine for themselves.
What led to the decision to rebrand?
The restaurant community in Durham is really thriving, but all these restaurants that I really like going to – Pizzeria Toro, M Sushi, Mateo Tapas – they all seem fairly niche. If you go to Toro, you’re going for pizza. If you go to M Sushi, you’re going for sushi. We’re not trying to pigeon-hole ourselves. If people are saying, “Oh, what do you want for dinner?” [We want them to say,] “Let’s just go to Motto, I know there will be something there we’ll like.”
You worked at Four Square for a long time. What’s this switch to Motto been like for you?
As a concept, we’re more casual than we were at Four Square. When [the owners] were looking to open Four Square, they thought the area in general was underserved in 88
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durhammag.com
| October/November 2016