Chef Scott Crawford is planning a new steakhouse. But the opening is a few years away.

Each of Chef Scott Crawford’s restaurants takes on a classic dining experience, but with a tilt, as he calls it.

Crawford & Son is a neighborhood restaurant on downtown Raleigh’s Person Street, while Jolie, set to open next door, will be a bustling French bistro.

For his next trick, Crawford is taking on the American steakhouse. On Oct. 2, he announced his third restaurant, called Crawford Brothers Steakhouse, will join Cary’s sprawling Fenton mixed-use development anchored by a Wegmans grocery store.

The restaurant’s name is a nod to Crawford’s first foray into business, a wood-splitting venture he and his brother, Steve, ran as teenagers.

“I’ve always wanted to do an awesome steakhouse, and I think we will,” Crawford said in an interview. “It’s a classic dining experience and, done correctly, it’s incredibly fun. It’s very nostalgic for a lot of people, very warm, very inviting. We saw a need in our market for an independent steakhouse, especially in that location.”

Fenton also will have a food hall project, and Crawford is part of the team curating concepts, though he has no plans to open anything in it.

“Once I signed a deal there, Fenton asked if I would help curate the food hall,” Crawford said. “Anytime someone lets you choose your neighbors, you take it.”

Dotan Zuckerman, vice president for leasing at Columbia Development, said the 92-acre development in the eastern part of Cary is expected to break ground later this year, with a grand opening in October 2020. Crawford Brothers also is expected to open in 2020.

Crawford Brothers will be the second restaurant attached to Fenton. Earlier this summer, Columbia Development announced Tex-Mex restaurant Superica, from Atlanta chef Ford Fry, will open its third North Carolina location in Cary.

Starting from scratch

The downtowns of Raleigh and Durham have caught most of the restaurant boom of the past decade, remaking cities in their wake.

Crawford said he sees the new steakhouse as catering to the entire Triangle and likes Fenton’s plan to open independent restaurants as part of the development.

“Cary is not a bad word,” said Crawford, who once was the executive chef at Herons in Cary’s Umstead Hotel. “I liked Fenton’s vision. I liked how they were curating the food.”

Crawford’s restaurants, under his Crawford Hospitality group, have been part of the resurgence along Person Street, going back to opening Standard Foods, then Crawford & Son and soon Jolie.

All of those meant modern renovations of old buildings. With the steakhouse, Crawford said he’s excited about building something from scratch.

“We want to have a lot of fun with the design,” Crawford said. “This is a new construction, which I haven’t been able to do with any of the restaurants I’ve owned. We’re starting with a clean slate.”

Crawford came to North Carolina to run fine dining Herons, serving as executive chef and food and beverage director for five years. Then he wanted to do something more casual, leaving to open Standard Foods. He struck out on his own to open Crawford & Son around the corner. This year, The News & Observer’s dining critic Greg Cox named it the restaurant of the year.

Big moments

With Crawford’s steakhouse, he said he wants somewhat of a return to the big moments found in fine dining, the anniversaries and celebrations that often go with a crusty, marbled steak and a glass of red wine.

“I left fine dining because I wanted to connect to the community in a more meaningful way,” Crawford said. “You reach a point where I thought, I’ve done all the 20-course tastings I can stand to do. ... But I’ve found I miss a little of the showmanship, cooking for those big memories. I think we can tap into that without being pretentious.”

Crawford Brothers is going for the big steakhouse experience of old with in-house dry-aging and butchering, a large wine list and dining room. Crawford said the steakhouse will have the most ambitious wine list of any of his restaurants so far. At 4,500 square feet, both of Crawford’s two other restaurants could fit inside Crawford Brothers.

There will be a smaller cocktail lounge in the restaurant serving smaller plates.

With two years to go before opening, many of the details are being worked out, Crawford said, especially on the design side and menu specifics. Crawford is still debating how to cook the steaks, but he’s leaning towards wood-fire.

“I love the old school New York, Chicago steakhouse experience,” Crawford said. “But what I like to do is make clever nods, making it feel modern and classic. In between new school and old school is where we want to land. Old school service, but in a fun way.”

Follow @CrawfordBrosNC or on Facebook at Crawford Brothers Steakhouse.

This story was originally published October 2, 2018 at 9:00 AM.