From burger joints and barbecue, to raw bars, English pubs and even a pie bar, Chattanooga’s food scene is full of local choices. Unique restaurants dot the neighborhoods we frequent, and as individual as they may seem, many of them are owned by the same raging restaurateurs. These dining dynasties own and operate multiple unique restaurants, anchoring Chattanooga’s food scene with fun and flavorful choices. We decided to get to know some of these kitchen kings (and queens) a little better this month.
Matt Lewis
At The Honest Pint.When Matt Lewis, owner of The Honest Pint, Terminal Brewhouse and Hair of the Dog Pub, opens a pub, he knows it has to feel like a pub.
“When I opened an English pub, I had to do things that made sense in our environment,” he says of his first restaurant venture, Hair of the Dog, which he opened in 2005. “I think identity is important, you know who I am A to Z.” Simplicity is the rule for Lewis, who keeps his message and vision obvious at his restaurants. “You have to know who you are,” he says. “There has to be a balance. You can’t do everything well.”
His restaurants: “Honest, neighborhood, classic with a modern element,” he says. “This is a pub, I can’t put Asian fusion on the menu.”
Always in his fridge: “Guinness beer. It’s multipurpose. I can cook with it, or at the very least, drink it,” he says. “Also, breakfast cereal. No really, I like to cook pasta dishes, so we always have that, and we make our own sauce.”