Staff photo by Mike Pare / Sip Coffee + Kitchen is slated to open Thursday at the site of a longtime Cohutta Bank drive-through on the North Shore.Chattanooga developer John Wise is prepping this week to open his second downtown restaurant, and the builder known for his central city apartment projects is looking at even more eateries.
"We're going to do more in the future," he said Tuesday at Sip Coffee + Kitchen at the corner of Velma and Kent streets, a block off of Cherokee Boulevard on the North Shore.
The site of his new restaurant, slated to open Thursday, for many years held a Cohutta Bank drive-through. Wise has raised a restaurant that has seating for 112 people with two open-air, covered spaces flanking an indoor dining area.
The builder said the $300,000 project helps service the North Shore, where Wise already has more than a half-dozen developments.
"It's not on the main road," Wise said about the eatery. "It's got the feel of the neighborhood."
Nick Goeller, Sip Coffee + Kitchen's chef, said there was a need for "a little more upscale boutique" restaurant offering servings of food not available in the area.
"It's a little bit away from the traditional," he said, adding the menu will hold healthy items that will appeal to millennials.
Kathleen Evins, marketing manager for Wise Properties, said the restaurant will offer dine-in only initially but soon after provide drive-through service. The eatery also will serve beer, wine and liquor, she said.
Rick Dillard, general manager at the North Shore restaurant, said it will open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, except for Sunday, when it will offer brunch.
Dillard said the original concept was to focus more on coffee, but the decision was made to provide "a full-fledged" menu along with live music Thursday through Saturday. Singer Amber Carrington of The Voice's Season Four is to sing Thursday and Friday, he said.
Wise said he never thought he'd be in the restaurant business. But he opened Southside Social about two years ago near Finley Stadium. That location offers a boutique bowling alley with 10 lanes and three bars, along with food and games.
Wise said he has built a team of people that makes the opening of additional restaurants easier.
"They will be smaller and custom restaurants," he said, noting Sip Coffee + Kitchen will employ about 15 people. Wise said his wife, Connie, and Barbara Brown helped design the new restaurant's space.
"We're excited to open and see how the place can produce," he said.
The additional eateries he's eyeing will both go downtown, Wise said.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.