Italian steakhouse 'Toscana' expected to open at Red Cedar development in August
LANSING — Toscana, an Italian restaurant under construction in the $260 million Red Cedar development, is scheduled to open in mid-August.
The incoming "Italian steakhouse," isn't part of a traditional chain eatery, said restaurant General Manager Eric Weber, but it is one of the restaurants operated by Concord Hospitality, the company that owns the AC Mariott and a Hyatt House under construction within the 35-area property along Michigan Avenue between U.S. 127 and Michigan State University.
"We're part of a bigger brand, but it's an individual concept," Weber said. "It's not a cut and paste. It's not a duplicate of another concept we've done. All of our concepts are original."
At Toscana, expect a menu at a "higher-end price point" built around "handmade fresh pasta" and steaks, he said.
"We're just trying to do as much from scratch and locally sourced as much as possible," Weber said. He hopes to draw customers from MSU's campus, as well as throughout the Lansing area.
"I think we're just kind of situated centrally for overlapping a lot of different areas of town," he said.
The restaurant is expected to seat up to 250 people. It will include a full bar, two private dining rooms and an outdoor patio with a fire pit.
"It's well-suited for business entertainment, casual and social affairs, romantic nights out and casual nights out," Weber said. "It's kind of going to develop and grow a life of its own as we get down the road."
The approximately 5,000-square-foot restaurant will be located nearest the AC Mariott hotel. Both the restaurant and Mariott will be connected to the Hyatt House, Weber said.
"Being an endcap unit of the hotel is kind of giving us the best of both worlds," Weber said. "Access from within the hotel and access for people that aren't staying at the hotel."
Toscana is scheduled to open Aug. 18, he said.
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The restaurant will employ about 50 people, he said. Two job fairs to fill the positions, both part- and full-time, took place last week.
"We're trying to get as much of the staff hired now as possible," Weber said.
When Toscana opens in August it will serve dinner, "then, as we get more staffed up and prepared and things are running, for lunches and private events," Weber said. The restaurant has plans to serve brunch on Saturday and Sunday as well.
The Red Cedar development already includes Red Cedar Lodge, a 127-room senior living facility; Gateway Lofts, 181 high-end apartments; University Edge, a student apartment complex totaling 792 beds; Hooked, a coffee and book store; Feng Cha, a tea and pastry shop; Old Bag of Nails, a restaurant and bar; Tropical Smoothie, a chain smoothie store; and Orthopaedic Rehab Specialists Physical Therapy, a chain physical therapy facility.
Contact Rachel Greco at rgreco@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @GrecoatLSJ .
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Italian steakhouse Toscana to open at Red Cedar development in August
