Raydal Hospitality Group, the restaurant group responsible for multiple Charlotte restaurants, has obtained control of Figo36 Modern Italian + Wine Bar, located at 416 East 36th St.
Raydal, which already owns and operates Sabor, Three Amigos, La Caseta, and Saru, purchased Figo36 from The Menagerie Group in late May 2023, according to the Charlotte Observer. The group won’t make any immediate changes to the restaurant that customers will notice, but owner Dalton Espaillat will bring his experienced restaurant team to take over much of the backside operations, including office management, vendor partners, marketing, and customer programs. Another upcoming change will be a more robust entertainment lineup.
“We plan to retain the staff and the same theme, with a little extra TLC on the operations side,” Espaillat tells Charlotte Observer. “The restaurant is in good shape, and we want to just roll with it as-is. … All of the changes will happen behind the scenes.”
Figo36 has remained open through the ownership transition. The restaurant is expected to keep much of the restaurant’s menu for the time being, which consists of Italian favorites, such as in-house, fresh-made pasta and pizza dough, using locally sourced ingredients. The new owners may tweak the menu a bit to make sure everything is prepared freshly.
“When it comes to ethnic food, it’s all about authenticity and keeping it fresh,” Espaillat tells the Charlotte Observer. “We also want to ensure we have plenty of product. That’s often a challenge of running fresh food at a high volume, but we have a perfect recipe and processes in place to get that done. We are so excited to keep adding brands into the Raydal portfolio. We look forward to providing authentic Italian offerings to our friends and neighbors in NoDa and greater Charlotte.”