The Brooklynites of Gran Electrica arrive in March
by Caleb Pershan Feb 15, 2018, - Eater SF
Gran Electrica, a New York Mexican restaurant with a Michelin Bib Gourmand seal of approval, is opening a West Coast location in Napa at 1313 Main Street. The previous occupant at that address, the restaurant and Wine Bar 1313 Main, quietly closed over the holiday season, and the new restaurant will open in mid-March.
Partners Tamer Hamawi, Elise Rosenberg, and Emelie Kihlstrom, also of Colonie in Brooklyn, opened Gran Electrica in 2012 in the Dumbo neighborhood. There, it’s known for fresh cocktails and regional Mexican dishes in an energetic atmosphere punctuated by playful design — think wallpaper figuring Brooklyn hipsters in Day of the Dead scenes inspired by the Mexican artist José Guadalupe Posada.
In a 2013 interview, Tamer, who is Australian, told Eater NY he’d originally dreamt of opening a Mexican Restaurant in his hometown of Melbourne, but instead brought his business plan with him to New York. Now, he says, “We could not be more thrilled to bring our Gran Electrica concept to Napa. The anticipation is definitely building, and the current local community buzz could not be more encouraging.”
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According to a job listing, Gran Electrica Napa’s chef will be Igancio Beltran and its general manager is Kate O’Reilly (Ciccio).
New York’s finest have given it a go in Napa before, with the high-profile opening, and then closing, of Ninebark in 2016. But that three-story restaurant project from NYC hospitality group AvroKO and chef Matthew Lightner (Atera) was more deluxe in its aims, while Gran Electrica might have more neighborhood-serving ambitions.