Chef Joe Kindred and Co-Owner Katy Kindred are bringing chef-driven American cuisine to Davidson, NC this month. The seasonally inspired restaurant combines modern and classic techniques and will feature innovative dishes, an extensive wine list from small producers around the world, unique draft and bottled beers, and modern variations on classic cocktails along with contemporary originals. A blend of global experiences and southern traditions influence Chef Joe’s cuisine to create dishes that provide a brand new experience for each guest, and will continue to do so with rotating menus bringing in unique flavors each week through their commitment to sourcing ingredients from local farmers and foragers.
The rotating menu pleases a wide range of guests with unseen combinations, and includes seafood, meat, and vegetable centric dishes, fresh pastas, and an assortment of desserts. Chef Joe, who was most recently Executive Chef at Roosters Uptown and named Chef of the Year in 2013 by Charlotte Magazine, and Co-Owner Katy, a Certified Sommelier who has globally and locally served in every facet of hospitality, combine their experiences to open the couple’s first solo venture. “It has been our vision for years to open a restaurant, named Kindred, and we are thrilled to be able to bring our dream to our community here in Davidson,” shares Katy.
Kindred’s menu will focus on seasonal ingredients from the restaurant’s large network of local farmers, their partnership with WhyNot Farms, and their relationship with forager Alan Muskat of No Taste Like Home organization. The menu brings new tastes to the guests through small shared dishes such as Tagliolini with venison, guanciale, cocoa, and chili en adobo; Bucatini with blue crab, salt cured flounder, tarragon, and cream; and Scallops a La Plancha with brown butter, dashi, and sunchoke. The dessert program, led by Pastry Chef Stephanie Detweiler features sweets such as Sweet Tea Madelines with citrus cream and pine; Dark Chocolate with warm spices and black seasame muesli; and after-dinner cocktails like the Take Two of These & Call Me Amaro, a Fernet-Lime Frozen Punch.
The beverage program at Kindred highlights wines sourced from smaller producers and creative cocktails, curated by a collaborative bar team comprised of bartenders Kenny Hanlon and Blake Pope. The innovative yet approachable cocktails complement the cuisine, and include drinks such as Hold Your Horses with gin, manzanilla, muscadine, lemon; Fashioned Bird with mezcal, Calabrian chile, bitters, and scorched herb; A Leg Up with apple brandy, grade b maple, cardamaro, and pecan bitters; as well as fun traditions like the Barkeep’s Choice, where the beverage team chooses for you; and a Round for the Kitchen, which purchases a cold one for the kitchen.
The restaurateur couple was not willing to settle until they found the right space for Kindred. Their search led them to the historic downtown of Davidson, just a mile away from where Joe grew up. The building that houses Kindred was the Old Tom Clark Museum, and originally the town pharmacy when it was built in 1914. With its deep history on Main Street, the Kindreds restored the building while holding true to the historic feel when designing. Katy, who led the design herself, used only real materials such as white marble for the bar and tables, solid hardwood floors, brass pendants, and built a piece of the old pharmacy into the bar. She made it a goal to protect the building’s tin ceiling, maintain the open floor plan, and restore the exterior. The three-story restaurant features the kitchen and 10-seat chef’s table, made of wood reclaimed from the building during its renovation, in the basement; the “old meets new” inspired 10-seat bar and 20 dining seats on the ground floor; and an open designed third floor dining room with 60 seats; with exposed brick and a staircase running up the inside of the wood and brass detailed wine wall. During the warmer weather, Kindred will offer guests a 1,000 foot outdoor patio, which seats 65 guests.