When Craig Lomonico decided he wanted to start practicing culinary technique, rather than just teaching it, he knew the time was right to open a restaurant.
And when he decided to open a restaurant, he could think of no better place to open it than the town where he grew up.
That restaurant – named simply Lomonico’s, located at 1506 Stonecreek Dr. S. – opened this past fall. It sports a chef-driven menu crafted by owner Lomonico and executive chef Andrew Borenstein.
It represents the culmination of 14 years in the food business for Lomonico.
Cooking is in Lomonico’s blood; he comes from Sicilian roots and has three brothers, so mealtime was always an important time when he was growing up. He would wake up to the smell of meatballs and tomato sauce cooking, and sat down for dinner with the family every night.
He was raised in Pickerington and graduated from Pickerington High School. After attending college at The Ohio State University and Franklin University, he spent several years as a stockbroker, but eventually decided to take a different path.
“At some point, I just stopped enjoying it for a variety of reasons,” Lomonico says. “I always said if I wasn’t a broker, I’d be a chef.”
He went to culinary school at what is now the Atlanta Culinary Arts and Design School.
After finishing school, he came back to central Ohio to teach, initially working as a substitute teacher before landing a full-time gig teaching culinary arts at Eastland Career Center. He was a teacher for six years before becoming assistant director for two, then director for three.
Going from full-time teacher to chef was a natural progression, Lomonico says; he just decided “It was time” to branch out on his own, and the result is the restaurant.
Lomonico describes the restaurant’s aim as American regional cuisine, offering a variety of food with its origins in different cultures. Among the most popular items are the scallops with risotto, English peas, lemon and beurre blanc; the salmon with charred Brussels sprouts, sugar snap peas, asparagus, forest mushroom, caramelized mushrooms and lemon herbed vin blanc; the chicken pot pie with oven-roasted potatoes, caramelized onions and gravy; and the selection of wood-fired pizzas.
There’s an emphasis on chef-crafted cuisine, attention to detail and fresh ingredients; he points out the restaurant’s lack of a walk-in freezer and its house-made veal stock as evidence of its commitment to quality.
An extensive wine selection, five beers on tap and a handful of cocktails – including sangria, mojitos and palomas – round out the menu. The summer-inspired cocktails are intended to complement the new outdoor patio, which just opened in May, Lomonico says.
The operation of Lomonico’s is multifaceted; in addition to the restaurant and bar, it has a limited retail component and a substantial catering component. It also has a teaching kitchen so Lomonico can continue to impart his culinary wisdom on those who like to cook and want to grow as chefs.
He teaches several advanced classes – including Tour of Italy, Date Night and Steak House Classic – as well as a six-week Culinary Fundamentals course.
“We start off with everything from knife skills and culinary technique,” Lomonico says. “If you want everything, we go into meat cookery; soups, stocks and sauces; vegetables; potatoes and starches; and creams and custards.”
Lomonico continues to teach outside the restaurant, instructing two days a week at The Ohio State University. And he’s often on the lookout for charitable opportunities.
The restaurant has donated food to Toll Gate and Heritage elementary schools, and in May, it hosted a wine-tasting event to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Several of Lomonico’s relatives have battled Hodgkin’s and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, so the cause is close to his heart.
Though he recently moved out of the city, Lomonico remains connected to Pickerington by more than just his restaurant; his parents and brothers all still live here. He lives in Clintonville with his wife, Lisa, his daughter, Gianna, and their dog, Jenkins.
Garth Bishop is editor of Pickerington Magazine. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
