SYRACUSE — The Armory Square restaurant, most recently known as Small Plates Detroit, has closed for renovation work but plans to reopen under a new name and restaurant concept next month.

Aster Pantry & Parlor will open in mid-September at 116 Walton St. in Syracuse — a location that also was once home to PJ’s Pub & Grill and PJ Dorsey’s.

The Small Plates Detroit owners wanted a concept in Syracuse “that really fits the location, the area, the region,” says Jonathan Gregory, VP of operations for Syracuse–based RainDog Hospitality Group, which owns the restaurant. He spoke with CNYBJ on Aug. 11.

Small Plates Detroit closed on Aug. 1 and plans to reopen under the new name and concept on Sept. 12, Gregory says. 

Gregory contends the Small Plates format “was successful,” but the owners believed they could do “something very special” with a regional flair at the restaurant.

“We all liked Small Plates, but I think that we really had an opportunity in Syracuse to do something very special, and it felt right to take advantage of that situation,” says Gregory.

When asked if the business has any concern about customer confusion with another name change, Gregory says he has no concern about that.

Aster Pantry & Parlor will have a menu that is “regionally inspired with creative flair that is cross cultural,” according to Gregory.

He says Aster will have fine-dining level service and fine-dining level food because the guests “deserve that.”

The renovation work doesn’t involve “knocking down walls” but does focus on “aesthetic things,” says Gregory.

Jacobs Architectural Woodworking and Kingdom Hardwood Floors are two of the companies working on the ongoing renovations inside the restaurant, he says.

When asked about the renovation costs involved, Gregory didn’t provide a specific dollar figure but noted it does involve “a lot of blood, sweat, and tears.”

Owners Todd Wenzel and Patrick Danial started thinking about the change earlier in the year, and hired Gregory as the firm’s vice president of operations in May.

Wenzel is CEO of RainDog Hospitality Group. Besides the restaurant, Danial is also the co-founder of Terakeet Corporation, an Armory Square firm that focuses on “engagement marketing technologies,” according to its website.

When asked about the restaurant’s name, Gregory says Aster comes from the “widely grown” wildflower in Central New York.

The parlor side, where patrons will consume snacks and drinks, will have a “Victorian” theme, he says. The pantry side of the eatery will combine elements of both the urban feel of the city and the rural of its suburbs, he adds.

“We have such a big space that it almost makes sense to … separate them,” he says.

Aster will employ between 50 and 100 full and part-time employees. They include Damien DiPietro, who will serve as the restaurant’s executive chef.

Gregory hired DiPietro, having been familiar with his work through their involvement with the Philadelphia–based STARR Restaurants. 

DiPietro, 30, who lives in Philadelphia, has been working with chefs since he was a teenager in New Jersey, he says. DiPietro spoke with CNYBJ on Aug. 11.

Gregory grew up in Albany and married a woman from Cazenovia, he says.

He previously worked for about 10 years for STARR Restaurants, which describes itself as “one of the largest multi-concept restaurant companies in the country,” according to its website. STARR Restaurants operates restaurants in the New York City and Philadelphia areas that include Buddakan, Morimoto, The Continental, and Barclay Prime.