The Edmont - Restaurant opening Houston

Houston, TX - The first time we all sat down together was at Camerata in May of this year. From there, we figured each other out regarding expectations and dedication to this project.

David and I could tell Grant was hungry to seriously cook again. We could tell he was sharp and had a business sense. Grant had been refining the concept for his dream restaurant and approached me and David to make this restaurant the best we could; Grant in the kitchen, David working with the wine program and myself over-seeing operations.

With that, I am excited to announce that Grant Gordon, David Keck and Paul Petronella, will soon open a restaurant together: The Edmont.

If unfamiliar with The Catcher in the Rye, the Edmont Hotel is the fictional hotel where young Holden Caulfield takes refuge from his many adolescence quests through the great borough of Manhattan. This is not in any way foreshadowing the shenanigans we expect at The Edmont restaurant. We can assure you, The Edmont restaurant will be a compilation of the skill sets from all three of us.

Grant has always liked the name The Edmont, and New York continues to be a culinary inspiration to Grant. The references we use from the book will be subtle and thoughtful. The food, wine, service and design will always be the focus of this restaurant.

The Edmont will be offering dinner service, a thoughtfully curated wine list and cocktail area. The cuisine will feature a forward thinking approach to familiar flavors. Utilizing Grant’s background in French and Italian techniques, we will cook things that make us happy in hopes that will in turn make our guests happy. David plans to pair our cuisine with beautiful front of house wine service as well. If you have visited Camerata, you know David Keck’s ability to educate his staff on wine service. Expect David’s list to continue to support wines made by people not companies, and speak of the place where they are grown, harvested, fermented, and bottled.

Grant plans to travel and “stage” during the construction period to grow professionally thus inspiring his new menu at The Edmont.

The site will be 1634 Westheimer Rd. It is currently an empty lot in the heart of Montrose. We are excited and privileged to build from the ground up, which enables us to design the restaurant layout from scratch. It is difficult to put a timeline on a ground-up project, but we hope to expedite the process within 12-18 months. We plan to be as efficient as possible, pending city permit approvals, of course.

We are excited to be able to stay in Montrose, and add another great establishment to our neighborhood. Abel Design Architect Group will be helping us transform the piece of dirt to a beautiful functional restaurant.

Please follow @TheEdmont for updates and possible pop-up announcements from Grant.

Thank you for reading. If you would like to know a bit more about the three of us, brief bios are below.

Sincerely,

Grant Gordon
David Keck
Paul Petronella

BIOS

Grant Gordon knew at a young age that he had a passion for cooking. By the age of 16, he had his first job in a Houston fine-dining restaurant, Zula. As the only restaurant in town that would let an in-experienced 16-year old in their kitchen, he happily worked for free. After several months at Zula, Gordon got his first paying job at the sushi bar Rickshaw, where he worked throughout his senior year of high school.
Immediately after graduating high school, Grant attended the Culinary Institute of America, choosing to forgo a typical collegiate education to follow his dream. Shortly after being enrolled, Grant was elected by his peers to be a “Group Leader”, despite being one of the youngest people in his class. Throughout his time at the C.I.A., Grant would volunteer at various campus events where he developed his culinary knowledge beyond the classroom. He also worked part-time at a campus restaurant under Certified Master Chef Thomas Griffiths, Grant’s first mentor. Before leaving the C.I.A., Grant completed an internship at La Toque in the Napa Valley, which was an eye-opening introduction to French cooking techniques that would shape his career.
After culinary school, Grant served a stint at Café Boulud. At the time, he was the youngest cook to rise to the fish station, he also contributed to a 3 star (out of 4) rating from the New York Times. Following Café Boulud, Grant moved to Cyrus in Healdsburg, CA, where he worked every station in the kitchen and contributed to a 2 star rating (out of 3) from the Michelin Guide and a 4 star rating (out of 4) from the San Francisco Chronicle; he left Cyrus as the lead cook. At that point, Gordon felt he was ready to seek a managerial chef position and wanted to do so in his hometown of Houston.
Despite multiple head chef and sous chef job offers, Grant chose to accept a role as a line cook at Tony’s in Houston with the expectation that he could advance quickly and assume greater responsibilities. He was promoted to sous chef within a couple months and then to executive chef within a few more. Grant was 23 years old when he was handed the keys to the kitchen. By the time he was 25, he had already been nominated for a James Beard Award and received a 4 star (out of 4) review from the Houston Chronicle; Tony’s was the only 4 star restaurant in Houston at the time. Though Grant’s background lay primarily in French food, he adapted to the Italian style at Tony’s, garnering extensive praise for his pastas. At 26, Forbes named him one of its “30 under 30” for professionals in the food and wine category and at 27, Gordon planned, opened and successfully operated his first restaurant, a 12,000 sq. ft. steakhouse, Vallone’s.
Upon leaving the Vallone Restaurant Group on good terms, Gordon was selected by the U.S. State Department to travel to the Philippines as a culinary diplomat where he contributed to various diplomatic programs. Upon returning from the Philippines, he wasted no time in preparing for his next project: his dream restaurant.
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David Keck began his career in the service industry at the age of 18 in his home state of Vermont, bartending and waiting tables in an Irish Pub. From Vermont, David moved to New York to pursue his Undergraduate studies at Columbia University in English, then Diploma studies at Juilliard in Opera Performance. After singing professionally for several years and receiving his Master of Music degree from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, David moved from one itinerant career to another.

Following his passion for fine wine, he worked as a wine buyer for several different establishments in Houston, then for a short stint in wine distribution with Prestige Wine Cellars. Before he was Camerata’s General Manager and Wine Director, he was the Beverage Director for the prestigious Uchi Restaurant Group.

In July of 2013, David opened a wine bar in Houston called The Camerata at Paulie’s with Paul Petronella of Paulie’s Restaurant. Camerata has quickly risen to local as well as national recognition. In May of 2014, David was voted Houston’s best sommelier/beverage director in Culturemap’s inaugural Tastemaker Awards.

David achieved his Advanced Sommelier certification in October of 2012, in which he also won the Rudd Scholarship for top honors. He is continuing to pursue wine certification with the Court of Master Sommeliers. In 2012, he was the first runner-up in the TEXSOM Texas’ Best Sommelier Competition, and in 2013 he won Third Place in the national finals of the Guild of Sommeliers’ TOP|SOMM competition.

David is excited to bring his high standards for service and unique approach to all facets of beverage service to The Edmont.

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Paul Petronella grew up in the restaurant business, running around family kitchens as a small boy. Today, Paul owns and operates Paulie’s restaurant, opened by his family in 1998, and Camerata wine bar. Paul is also Vice-President of OKRA (Organized Kollaboration on Restaurant Affairs) and head of bar operations at the OKRA Charity Saloon, Houston’s only not-for-profit charity bar.

After college, Paul decided to make use of his degree in marketing and joined the field of advertising. He quickly worked his way up from holding an unpaid internship to becoming an Account Executive in one year’s time. Paul was responsible for managing, coordinating, and planning with million-dollar advertising clients.

After 4 years in advertising, Paul returned home to take over the family business, Paulie’s Restaurant. He has been the chef, general manager, and sole operator of the neighborhood restaurant for 6 years now. Without removing anything that made the restaurant great, he has updated and improved upon aspects that were once the restaurant’s weaknesses. Under Paul’s watchful eye, Paulie’s has earned particular notoriety for the coffee program and homemade pastas which they have even sold to several other notable restaurants. Additionally, gross sales have increased by 50% and alcohol sales have doubled.

In 2013, Paul opened Camerata wine bar with David Keck. Camerata is widely considered to be among Houston’s best bars, known for their unique wine selection and outstanding service.