The new Terra International Cuisine will be many things-- a raw bar, a vegan restaurant, a gourmet vegetarian restaurant, a pescetarian restaurant, a Kosher cafe--and all of them will be new to Albany.
“It doesn’t exist anywhere else,” says Howard Katz, a representative for the new restaurant. The restaurant opened in the former Townsend Park Bakery on Washington Avenue January 1, and so far the reception has been warm. The restaurant was in the works for more than a year, and the grand opening was postponed in March after a fire damaged the upper floors. The restaurant's Executive Chef Chavez Gibbes is an alum of Johnson & Wales University in Providence, RI, a prestigious culinary program that is also where Emeril Lagasse, Tyler Florence, and Michelle Bernstein trained.
This new restaurant offers two kinds of dining experiences and two different menus: a casual eatery at the front of the restaurant, featuring smoothies, juices and salads, and a more formal dining experience at the back of the restaurant that includes upscale and gourmet dishes.
The back of the house will be known as Terra, and its menu will be devoted to more international fare, with a focus on vegetarian cuisine and pescetarian, a diet that includes seafood, but not other kinds of animals. Many of the dishes on this menu will make use of the restaurant’s monumental brick oven, crafted from the blue stone quarried from the nearby Helderberg Escarpment. “There will be gourmet pizza, and we are going to deliver,” Katz says.
The front of the restaurant will be known as New Wave Raw Bar and Cafe and will offer a menu centered mostly on vegan and raw foods, many of which will make use of a dehydrator for cooking, Katz says. This is a craze that’s hitting many of the bigger cities, but this cafe will be the only one of its kind in the Capital Region. “The flavors are like a budding in your mouth,” says Katz. This part of the restaurant will open later in the spring.
The restaurant is being run by Sonny Brar, owner and operator of Zaika, a well-known upscale Indian restaurant in Clifton Park that closed in August. Brar is known for his warmth and friendliness. “People will come back because Sonny’s there,” Katz says.
The restaurant is near Central Avenue's Townsend Park. Townsend Park has been the site of increased business development as of late. Last year, two new restaurants, Umana Restaurant and Wine Bar and Flavors of India opened on the park. Parkside Apartments, a new upscale apartment whose beautiful units face the park, opened with much fanfare, and fully leased apartments in the summer. In July, Central Avenue BID announced that the National Association of Realtors had awarded a grant of $2,200 from the Greater Capital Chapter of New York State Commercial Association of Realtors to install outdoor lighting in Townsend Park, moving the needle even further in the right direction and hopefully attracting additional investment.
The restaurant is near Central Avenue's Townsend Park. Townsend Park has been the site of increased business development as of late. Last year, two new restaurants, Umana Restaurant and Wine Bar and Flavors of India opened on the park. Parkside Apartments, a new upscale apartment whose beautiful units face the park, opened with much fanfare, and fully leased apartments in the summer. In July, Central Avenue BID announced that the National Association of Realtors had awarded a grant of $2,200 from the Greater Capital Chapter of New York State Commercial Association of Realtors to install outdoor lighting in Townsend Park, moving the needle even further in the right direction and hopefully attracting additional investment.
The restaurant will be obtaining a liquor license and may also offer live entertainment in the evening.
Terra and New Wave are located at 238 Washington Avenue in Albany. For more information, please visit their website at http://www.terraalbany.com/.
