Contributed photo / Restauranteurs Chloe Wright, right, and Ryan Smith are opening a new restaurant, Elsie’s Daughter, which is set to open this fall.Note: This story was updated on Aug. 29 to correctly state where Chloe’s Wright’s father is from.
Chattanooga restaurateurs Chloe Wright and Ryan Smith, known for their casual-yet-chic neighborhood bar, The Rosecomb, are embarking on a new culinary adventure with Elsie’s Daughter, a fusion of French cuisine and Appalachian fare set to open this fall at The Hotel Chalet at the Choo Choo.
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In many ways, Elsie’s Daughter will be a place where the past meets the present — blending the stories of Wright and Smith’s modern lives with those of times gone by. Wright, who grew up in Chattanooga, has had ties with the Choo Choo location since childhood.
“My dad is a chef, and recently retired from the University of the South. During the late 1980s and early ’90s, he worked in a food and beverage program there (on the Choo Choo campus),” Wright said in a phone interview. “I spent a lot of my time on the campus with him, on the hotel grounds, in the kitchen.”