The former owner of The Blue Plate and ROBAR is assembling his dream team for a new Main Street gathering spot.
Under construction at the corner of Main and Cowart Streets, Hello Monty is a 6,200-square-foot space that will include a community bar, an open dining area and a 1,300-square-foot outdoor dining porch and yard that will run along Cowart Street. The restaurant is slated to open mid-October. Its on-site brewing operation will open later this year.
The owners of Hello Monty are brothers Rob and Clay Gentry. Both are Southside residents and Chattanooga natives with decades of experience in local restaurant and brewing operations.
Rob Gentry owned The Blue Plate and ROBAR and is a co-founder of Big River Grille & Brewing Works, the first post-Prohibition commercial brewery in Chattanooga.
Clay Gentry has been managing brewing operations and designing breweries for Big River restaurants across the country since the 1990s.
Rebecca Barron will oversee Hello Monty’s food operations and kitchen. Barron earned a James Beard nomination during her tenure at St. John’s Restaurant, where she worked as executive chef.
The restaurant manager is Mary Halford, who ran operations for The Blue Plate from 2013 until it closed earlier this year.
“Clay and I have been thinking about collaborating for many years, and we finally found the right location to bring our concept to life,” says Rob Gentry. “We’re creating a place we hope will become a gathering spot for the neighborhood.”
The menus at Hello Monty will include freshly grilled savory foods (including vegan options), beer poured from the tanks and pitcher-size cocktails (both alcoholic and nonalcoholic).
Hello Monty is hiring servers and kitchen staff. Apply at www.HelloMontyOnMain.com.
Source: Hello Monty