Rosalie Opening (Wayne, PA)

 On September 10, 2020, Fearless Restaurants will be opening up their latest spot with Rosalie in Wayne, PA. Owner Marty Grims & Executive Chef Merick Devine will be offering Italian comfort food and as with any Fearless Restaurants concept, the food will hit the spot and the design will be on point. Please see the press release below! 

Rosalie will open September 10, 2020, for dinner only and opens for lunch on Saturday, September 12, 2020. Devine said, “Our goal is to cook real, Italian, comfort food. Food that has a soul, that just makes you feel good to eat. I am perpetually fascinated by the hyper regionality of Italian Cuisine and we plan to celebrate that. From Sicilia to Friuli, we are going to hit it all.”

Rosalie is named for owner Marty Grims’ mother, a second-generation Italian immigrant. “The story of “Rosalie” is first and foremost about family.  It is about generations of many families that have come together to bring Rosalie to life. It is about the families that will dine with us, that we will nurture, and treat as if they are our own. The notion of family is reflected in everything we do. The origins of the name and food, the way we treat our guests, it is ALL about family,” explained Grims.

 

Rosalie features 60 seats in Sala Grande, the main dining room, 60 seats on the Portico, the porch, and for private events, there are 32 seats in the Salotto, 30 seats in the Sala Piccola, 100 in the Atrio, the Lobby Lounge for cocktails or 150 in the Sala Grande. Rosalie is also available for buyouts and can seat 200 reception style.

 

“If you’re not in Italy; you’re only limited by your imagination at Rosalie,” said Rosalie Designer Barbara Balongue of Balongue Design Inc. “Rosalie’s décor features wide plank European oak flooring, and backlit winery styled wine storage. The atmosphere is truly homey and openhearted. It’s special charm genuinely pays homage to the rustic Italian cuisine.”

 

The bar features a custom mural emulating the look of an old Italian street scene and trattoria styled booths in the bar dining area. All four of Rosalie’s dining rooms provide a uniquely intimate dining experience with their own personalities featuring vintage basket wrapped wine bottles, Polenta Paddles, vintage cutting boards, and ravioli rolling pins.

 

The outdoor porch, the Portico, has woven bistro chairs and marble top tables under lazy ceiling fans that transport guests to the seaside villages of Italy.

 

“Rosalie will offer an international wine list of 120 bottles with a focus on Italian wine, the beer list will be a combination of local craft and international favorites and there will be Italian inspired versions of classic cocktails,” according to Fearless Director of Beverage Len Boris.

 

Rosalie will be open Monday - Thursday 11am-9pm, Friday 11am-10pm, Saturday 10am -10pm and Sunday 10am- 9pm. Weekends feature an all-day menu following brunch at 2 pm. Rosalie will feature live music Fridays and Wednesdays from 5-9 pm, Saturday 5-9 pm, and Sunday from 11 am-2 pm.

 

The menu features housemade pasta and traditional stone-fired pizza as well as panini, antipasti, and entrees. Devine said, “The menu is pretty flexible in that guests can create their own experience as simple or as elaborate as they want. Want a few “stuzzichini” (traditional bar snacks/finger foods) and a glass of wine? We got you. Want to experience a more formal “Quattro Piatti” (traditional Italian four-course meal)? Well, we can do that too. We will source heavily from local farms and the menu will change frequently to reflect seasonality. We are not region-specific and instead plan to celebrate the eclecticism of Italian food by cooking from all the regions,” he added.

 

Before leading the kitchen at Rosalie, Devine served as the Executive Chef at White Dog Cafe in Wayne. Before joining Fearless Restaurants, he worked at Frasca Food and Wine in Colorado for over six years. While serving as Chef de Cuisine, Frasca was nominated twice for the prestigious James Beard “Outstanding Restaurant” award.

 

Devine said, “I don’t have a romantic story about sitting around my Italian Grandmas stove and watching her stare deeply into a pot of Ragu. That's not how my passion for Italian cooking started,” Devine said, “I wasn’t the guy who always knew he was destined to be a chef. I never even really liked to cook. But what I did like to do, was eat. I was very fortunate growing up that I had an amazing family that valued time together and always placed importance on it. It wasn’t until college that I started buying cookbooks instead of textbooks. I started skipping class to test new recipes and practice sharpening a knife. It was during this time that my career and path was ignited,” he added.

 

A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, NY, Devine also served as chef de partie at Craft, Los Angeles. He developed his love and experience for pasta making while traveling throughout Italy working at an array of restaurants including the One Michelin Star La Subida in Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy.