Chef Matt Kelly buys historic Nana's restaurant

On Tuesday, the four-time James Beard semifinalist announced that he has bought historic restaurant Nana's from longtime chef and owner Scott Howell. Kelly plans to renovate the space and reopen it with the same name this spring.

"I saw a lot of restaurants closing over a period of time, (and) they weren't just necessarily pandemic related," Kelly said, noting the closures of Magnolia Grill and Four Square. "With Nana's, I was just saw it as an opportunity to, kind of keep a, a Durham foodway still open. It's a restaurant that's important to a lot of people and has a lot of history in the community."

When Kelly began plans to purchase Nana's, he had no idea that Saint James would end up closing its doors.

"The expectations of Saint James closing or the lease getting terminated when it did was not really in the plan," Kelly said.

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Kelly also owns and operates Vin Rouge, Mateo Bar de Tapas and Mothers & Sons. He said part of the appeal of Nana's was being able to establish relationships in the neighborhood.

"Something, I really enjoy is like building those relationships daily and I just saw this powerful corner," Kelly said. "It was also the ability to control, to be your own landlord and have long term control."

Howell, an eight-time James Beard Foundation award semifinalist, opened Nana's in 1992 at 2514 University Drive. Howell closed the restaurant in 2020 due to the pandemic.

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Howell said via a press release that he was surprised that Kelly wanted to buy the restaurant and keep the name.

“I asked him, ‘Are you sure? Don’t you want to make it your own?’ But Matt’s all about the tradition of Nana’s. I wouldn’t want to come behind me there. If anyone can do it, it’s Matt Kelly," Howell said.

So what will the future of Nana's look like?

First, don't expect it to flood every time it rains. About four years ago, the City of Durham addressed the issue which plagued the space for 20 years.

Most of the changes will be in the interior design. Kelly will also update the kitchen for what he is dubbing Nana's 2.0 or Nana's Rockwood.

"It's an honor to keep something going. We just really want to put our best foot forward and listen to our guests, pay attention to the past and, you know, also pave a new road to the future," Kelly said.

"I always love the balance of like, old world cuisine from Europe with a little bit more modern take and using ingredients from the American South. I think that's what really embodied Nana's cuisine and how Scott cooks," Kelly said.

Kelly said he wants to honor that same approach by crafting a streamlined menu with nine appetizers and seven to eight entrees. He also envisions a bar menu with "probably some oysters."

In addition to the bar menu, Kelly said he'd like to have a wine program not just a wine list.

"We'd like to have someone available on the floor to help the guide guests on what they're looking for and their needs," he said.

For cocktails, expect classic items intertwined with some seasonal picks.

Looking to the future, Kelly is hoping to open Nana's in March or early spring 2023. Kelly plans to open Nana's five days a week.

While Kelly will be the restaurant’s executive chef and owner, chef de cuisine Nate Garyantes is also a business partner on the project. Garyantes has been a chef at one of Kelly's other restaurants, Mateo Bar de Tapas.