BUSINESS

from Scottsdale Progress 10-09-22

by Times Media Group

ARTS

Scottsdale.org l @ScottsdaleProgress /ScottsdaleProgress

Ginny’s Kitchen offers a twist on comfort food

BY ALEX GALLAGHER Progress Staff Writer

Northern Scottsdale residents and those passing by The Summit at Scottsdale shopping center may have noticed a new restaurant has draped itself over the home of former Twist Bistro.

Ginny’s Kitchen, which is owned by the husband and wife team of Sandy Tracey and chef Larry Shore, is the latest concept cooked up by the couple and of�icially replaced Twist Bistro on Oct. 1.

“We felt partly that the food we were doing before wasn’t right for the neighborhood,” Larry said. “It was almost like Twist Bistro had the wrong time and the wrong menu in the wrong place and all those factors came together so it never really blossomed into what we wanted.”

Larry and his wife Sandy Tracey Shore had planned to open Twist Bistro in early 2020 but construction delays pushed the opening to March 2020.

But the pandemic forced Twist to move its opening date again to Mother’s Day 2020 as sweltering temperatures began and people �led to cooler climes.

“We never had the grand opening because of that and we never really got started or had that curiosity factor like most restaurants get,” Larry said.

After pushing through a barrage of issues ranging from operating at half capacity, losing staff and management and Larry catching COVID-19, Valley Fever and pneumonia one after the other, the restaurant owners were at wit’s end.

Then came what Larry called the “cherry on top.”

“We’ve had so many things that have so many ups against us, then the cherry on the whole cake of it all was all our friends that own restaurants were collecting PPP loans and forgiveness loans but we quali�ied for nothing because we were told that we opened too late,” he said.

Around the time Larry was thinking of a new concept to replace the faltering Twist Bistro, his mother Ginny had turned 89 and decided it was time to move to Connecticut, where Larry’s sisters live.

“That was like a big sad kind of goodbye since she’s 89 and I’m not going to see her very often,” Larry said. “Then we were like, ‘what do we do with the restaurant? Should we change concepts and we do a different menu should we stay as we are?’” Then Sandy Tracey’s daughter �loated the idea of a restaurant called “Ginny’s Kitchen.”

“I started obsessing about it as I do about everything. I started thinking Ginny’s Kitchen, country food and elevated comfort food with kind of a modern delivery of high-quality ingredients made with care and a little bit of creativity like a mom and a chef together,” Larry said.

Then Larry got to thinking about the dishes he enjoyed whipping up alongside his beloved mother during his childhood.

“She made fun out of cooking,” Larry said. “She used to take bread dough, shape it into a man’s face and convince me and my sister to come over and beat up the dough as like it was a bully down the road. That’s how we learned to knead the dough.”

Larry began thinking of dishes his mom made and dishes that brought the four-star chef comfort during his tenure cooking in kitchens around the world and at the Boulders Resort.

He also consulted with friends in the industry to concoct a comforting compendium of cuisine and cocktails.

“We talked to consultants, we talked to some four-star chefs and friends of mine and we all went over all these ideas and what came out of all of the ideas was

Chef Larry Shore and his wife Sandy Tracey Shore recently opened Ginny’s Kitchen in The Summit at Scottsdale shop-

ping center. (David Minton/Progress Staff Photographer)

told that we opened too late,” he said.

Prepare for Power Outages & Save Money

PWRcell, Generac’s fully-integrated solar + battery storage system, stores solar energy that can power your whole home during utility power outages and save you money on your electric bill.

REQUEST A FREE QUOTE!

ACT NOW

TO RECEIVE

A $300 SPECIAL OFFER!* A $300 SPECIAL OFFER!* (866) 477-0811

$0 DOWN FINANCING OPTIONS!**

*O er value when purchased at retail. O er value when purchased at retail. **Financing available through authorized Generac partners. **Financing available through authorized Generac partners. Solar panels sold separately. modern comfort food,” Larry said. “Let’s do quality relatable food people can identify (with).”

He began concocting classic dishes like chicken pot pie, meatloaf, burgers and shrimp po boy sandwiches – all with a twist, such as adding wild boar meat to the meatloaf.

He also prides himself on only using the freshest ingredients because he was never allowed to eat any processed food.

“The thing with mom is, when I was a kid, she refused to buy any box mixes,” he recalls. “We weren’t like other kids; we didn’t go home and get a chocolate bar for a snack. She’d tell us, ‘make yourself some egg salad if you’re hungry after school or have peanut butter and jelly. She inspired that from such an early age that I grew a palette that was intolerant for box mixes.”

Larry also gives diners a taste of the food served at his dinner table during his childhood.

“The homemade biscuits were something she always made, the chicken pot pie was mom’s chicken pot pie and my mom was always an amazing dessert maker,” Larry said. “She used to do all kinds of different cobblers of rhubarb, apples, pears and cherries, whatever was in season.”

Larry admits that cooking these dishes takes him back to his childhood every time he grabs a pan.

“One of my fun stories that I tell the customers a lot of times is when I learned to cook when I was a kid, I grew up with four older girls and everybody was always �ighting,” he said.

“I found if I retreated to the kitchen, it was quieter and if I cooked something everybody would get along for dinner till somebody had to �igure out who’s doing dishes,” he added with a laugh. Larry always re�lected fondly on that hour of solace where everyone sat around the dinner table smiling and bonding over a hot homemade meal.

“For that hour, everybody got along,” he said. “We talked about love and fun and what we did today. That experience of the big family getting together, enjoying dinner and enjoying something hearty homemade was something I’ll always remember.”

Food is not the only homage Larry pays to his mother with the restaurant as there is a wall �illed with himself and his mother as well as what he and Sandy Tracey call “momisms” scattered around the restaurant.

However, the one big difference between the restaurant and Larry’s childhood homes in New York and New Jersey is there is artwork painted by Sandy Tracey lining the walls that when stared at passenger diners on a journey up route 66, adding to the American �lare of the restaurant.

The restaurant also gives thirsty patrons a taste of Arizona as the bar features beers from Huss Brewing and SanTan Brewing and alcohol from around the state, including Carefree Bourbon – which Larry uses to lather on his smoke dry rub chicken wings.

With the new concept launched, Larry and his team are excited to welcome hungry customers in and cook them a homestyle comforting meal.