Fig & Farro Set to Lure Vegetarians, Vegans and More to Calhoun Square

On January 24 Fig & Farro will open inside Calhoun Square at an address that’s familiar to restaurants. It was the longtime home to Figlio, then Il Gato, Primebar and most recently Parella. The altruistic goal of the restaurant is to help people find their way to eating less meat, reducing the global footprint and then pay all the good stuff forward and generally make the world a better place. Behind the project are Michelle Courtright, a self-described serial entrepreneur who also owns MADE, a product design agency; Thomas Dambrine, whose restaurant background includes working with larger quick-service companies like Dairy Queen and Bean Sprout Cafe and designer Ellen Hughes.

The restaurant has been largely painted a rich, dark blue with rescued fixtures (including a few tables from the old Nye’s.) There are several communal tables and a few booths. The front wall of windows will open up onto Lake Street in the summer and a small play area for little kids.

Cast Iron Communication/Fig & Farro

The entire staff is being cross trained so servers are prep chefs and cooks could be hosts.

Cast Iron Communications/Fig & Farro

The menu is entirely vegetarian and about half vegan with a baker who makes use of whole grains in most items. Some items are gluten-free, some dairy-free and the staff has gone through a lot of training to make sure they can clearly communicate what is safe for whom to eat. The food makes use of a wide array of cuisines, reaching around the world for spices to season cauliflower steaks and stewed lentils.

Cast Iron Communications/Fig & Farro

Behind the bar, the house wine is just $5, almost all of the wines poured are organic and the cocktails are being mixed for almost entirely locally produced spirits.

Cast Iron Communications/Fig & Farro

Fig & Farro will be open January 24 and will open Monday through Friday 11am to 11pm; Saturday and Sunday 10am to 11pm.