Leaving from John F. Kennedy International Airport at 7 AM, and arriving at his newest restaurant in Houston by 11 AM, Michelin-star Chef Jonathan Benno is eager to get into the kitchen.
For those who have worked for Benno or enjoyed his dishes, that passion has always been the focus. With that in mind, Café Leonelli is a culinary oxymoron of sorts: fast paced counter-service paired with made from scratch Italian classics. The new eatery is located inside the Nancy and Rich Kinder Building on the campus of the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, TX.
Among the many challenges of Café Leonelli is creating a game plan to provide high quality fare seven days a week. Benno brings a track record of success to the Houston project. Leonelli Restaurant and Leonelli Bakery in Manhattan have both been a success since making their debuts. Considered one of the top chefs in the country, Jonathan Benno has spent over three decades honing his craft in some of the world’s finest restaurants, counting John Farnsworth, Michael Mina, Daniel Boulud, Tom Colicchio, and Thomas Keller among his culinary mentors. Most recently, Benno spent six years at the helm of Lincoln Center’s Lincoln Ristorante, where he gained critical acclaim for his contemporary Italian Cuisine.
Café Leonelli is Benno’s first restaurant outside of the Big Apple. His inspiration for the new Texas restaurant’s menus draws on some of his earliest food memories as well as his profound travels through Italy. Benno’s menu at Café Leonelli, features a selection of salads, soups, sandwiches, focaccia with toppings, and classic Italian dishes like lasagna or eggplant parmigiana.
When bringing his NYC Italian fare to the Lone Star state, Benno makes it a priority to merge both the city and the cuisine by sourcing ingredients from local vendors and purveyors. “I’ll tell you what we have discovered down here is, there’s a lot of great food being produced in Texas,” said Benno. Café Leonelli gets their mushrooms from cultivators at Lonestar Mushrooms right outside of Houston. Grains for both their polenta and focaccia are sourced from the Homestead Grist Mill in Waco, TX. source Café Leonelli also looks to The Chef’s Warehouse as they have in New York for a number of years to provide a full line of quality ingredients.
With the Museum’s visitors in mind, Café Leonelli serves an Italian breakfast that includes an array of pastries, coffee and tea, oatmeal, yogurt, and a few savory sandwiches. The Leonelli sandwich menu includes prosciutto, burrata, or porchetta, as well as entrees highlighted by roasted salmon or chicken cacciatore.
The pastries and sweets served in Café Leonelli are courtesy of Salvatore Martone— Michelin Star recipient and Executive Pastry Chef of the Bastion Collection. With an eye towards the younger generation, Café Leonelli also boasts the first outpost of Frohzen, Chef Martone’s Miami-based ice cream shop.
Benno’s commitment to be in the Houston marketplace has given him an accurate read on growth opportunities. Benno is already seeing the potential to expand the café’s current breakfast menu and offer a more extensive brunch menu on the weekends. “It’s amazing to me how much more profitable a $11 sandwich is in Houston versus New York,” Benno explained. The facility offers 100 seats inside the restaurant, and about 30 seats outside.
As the second largest museum in the country behind the MET in New York, Chef Benno refers to the Museum of Fine Arts Houston as “Disney with air conditioning”. Especially with the hot summer weather approaching, the museum’s tunnels allow guests to move throughout all the different buildings while still staying cool. Café Leonelli is a unique venture for Benno, as the Leonelli brand is known widely for their destination restaurants in NYC. The Houston project has enabled Benno to expand his footprint beyond traditional restaurants into the concession industry.
“This is a truly unique opportunity to learn to fuse fast, high volume service with our classic, made from scratch recipes and serve them in a 10 minute window,” Benno concluded.
Learn more about Café Leonelli at their website
