Cocozza brings Italian fare to downtown
When you wander down South Main Street, you will notice that The Majestic Grille’s patio has been transformed into an Italian cafe. Red check tablecloths cover the tables. Red candles flicker on the tables. Italian music plays in the background, and twinkle lights light the area. Do we dare say, it almost feels like a romantic scene from the Disney film “Lady and the Tramp"?!
The Majestic Grille owners Deni and Patrick Reilly have launched a “ghost” restaurant out of the kitchen of their downtown eatery.
“The Majestic is more than just the food. It’s the whole experience – the building, the people, the bustle. If we couldn’t do all of it, we didn’t want to reopen,” Patrick said.
Cocozza, an idea simmering in the Reillys’ minds for years, suddenly became the solution to how to reopen in the middle of a pandemic. After a soft opening, the restaurant officially launches July 15.
Back in May, the couple thought they would launch Cocozza as a supplemental takeout-only business; but the rising COVID-19 numbers have deterred any interest in re-opening their indoor dining room.
The “ghost” dining concept will operate as both a takeout service as well as a pop-up patio restaurant. The menu is available for takeout Tuesday through Saturday evenings, and if the weather is nice, patrons can choose to dine al fresco on their reinvented patio. (In case you were wondering, the definition of a "ghost" restaurant is one that is takeout only with no dining room.)
The American Italian “red sauce” themed eatery finds its roots in the couple’s past.
“One of the reasons I married Patrick
was his vodka rigatoni,” Deni said. “I was skeptical that this Irish guy could cook my favorite dish – and he did!”
Deni grew up in New Jersey dining in American Italian “red sauce” restaurants. Dishes like vodka rigatoni, eggplant parmesan and pencil points (penne with marinara) are all dishes that evoke memories of home for Deni – and are dishes the duo have incorporated into their new menu.
Shareable antipasto plates, chicken parmesan, baked lasagna and chicken piccata are just a handful of the oldschool American Italian classics you will find on the menu. The food is not fussy – it's Italian comfort food done well and served in generous portions.
"These dishes are also well-suited for to-go and heat-and-serve," Patrick added.
Menu items like DD'S chopped salad were inspired by meals with family in New Jersey.
“DD is my grandmother," Deni said. "She always made these gorgeous salads made from farmstand tomatoes, cucumbers and whatever crunchy vegetables were fresh.”
Cocozza's chopped salad starts with Deni's grandmother's recipe and then is topped with a creamy Italian dressing inspired by the one served at one of her family's favorite Italian restaurants, Federici's in Freehold, New Jersey.
“I always thought there was a market for Italian downtown,” Patrick said, explaining that people generally ask either where a steakhouse is or where the best Italian restaurant in downtown Memphis is.
The name Cocozza not only comes from Deni's roots, but also has a Memphis connection. Deni's grandfather's family came from a tiny town in the Molise Region of Italy called Filignano, where generations of Cocozza men served as mayor. When her great-grandfather immigrated to the United States, he changed his last name like many who entered the country did, giving up the family name of Cocozza for Ferguson.
As Cocozza was coming to life, the Reillys discovered that Elvis' favorite singer was Mario Lanza, a renowned opera singer and movie star who was known to his family as Alfred Cocozza.
“We named our frozen strawberry 'Surrender' cocktail after an American adaptation of the 1902 Italian ballad ‘Torna a Surriento' – better known in the U.S. as 'Surrender' and sung by none other than Elvis Presley,” Deni said.
Orders can be placed online for contactless service. Curbside pick-up is available at the corner of South Main Street and Peabody. Delivery to downtown and Midtown will be offered in the coming weeks. The patio will be open only when the weather is nice.
And don't worry. Patrick said The Majestic Grille will reopen with all its “majesticness” when the Reillys feel it is safe to do so. “Who knows! When we reopen The Majestic, we may just end up with two restaurants.”
Jennifer Chandler is the Food & Dining Reporter at The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at jennifer.chandler@commercialappeal.com and you can follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @cookwjennifer.