On Retailing

Tuesday, September 19, 2000

New restaurant opens in Heritage Park

Ex-Marbella owner will serve cuisine styles ranging from France to the Pacific Rim

Offering cuisine styles ranging from France to the Pacific Rim, Christian Chavanne said his new restaurant is about enjoying the time and the tastes.
   "I want people to enjoy the dining experience," Chavanne said.
   Chavanne, former owner of Marbella Restaurant at 1002 N. Chaparral St., opened Christian's House at 1521 N. Chaparral St. in Heritage Park.
   The restaurant, housed in the historic four-bedroom Merriman-Bobys House, opened Friday and offers a menu that includes seafood, Italian and southwestern dishes.
   The restaurant is open Wednesday through Saturday from 6 p.m. until the last customer is done, said Christian's wife, Fredna Chavanne. Most of all, Christian Chavanne said, the restaurant is closer to his original concept, a big part of which was taking the bite out of time.
   "You can go there and you're not rushed," he said. "I want to create a dining experience and not just 'eating out.' "
   The Chavannes first came to Corpus Christi in 1993, a decision Fredna Chavanne said fit both of them.
   The two had met in 1986 while she was studying at the University of North Texas and he was the executive chef at the Four Seasons Hotel in Las Colinas near Dallas. Christian Chavanne, originally from France, arrived in Los Angeles in 1971.
   Fredna Chavanne said that when the two began looking for a new home, she wanted to be near family in Tyler and he wanted to be closer to the ocean. So they came to Corpus Christi.
   "He fell in love with Corpus Christi," Fredna Chavanne said.
   Serving as executive chef at the Corpus Christi Yacht Club from 1993 to 1996, Christian Chavanne opened Marbella in 1996.
   Starting off was rocky, he said, because would-be patrons thought the name meant either a Mexican or Italian restaurant. The cuisine was actually Mediterranean, French and Californian.
   "People would walk in and turn around and walk out when they found out we didn't have meatballs or enchiladas," Christian Chavanne said. Equally as troublesome was paying the overhead for the more than 6,000-square-foot facility, which could seat about 200 people, Fredna Chavanne said.
   Then a friend and fellow restaurant owner offered to co-lease the home.
   Anne McKibben owns Silver Star Kitchen, which will continue conducting cooking classes and catering services from the premises.
   The restaurant prefers reservations although walk-ins are accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis, Christian Chavanne said. The restaurant can serve a table every 15 minutes, allowing for a maximum of about 60 customers.
   Three rooms serve as dining areas, although one of those will be reserved for private gatherings. Tables will also be placed outside on the restaurant patio. Only two servers will be on hand during weekdays and a third will be available on weekends.
   All of that aims at giving a more intimate, unique experience from the stylized service at most national chain restaurants, Christian Chavanne said.
   "This is the antidote for that."
  

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On Retailing is published every other Tuesday in the Caller-Times business section. The column includes news of new, relocated and expanded businesses in the Coastal Bend, plus retailing trends and profiles. Ideas may be submitted to: On Retailing, Corpus Christi Caller-Times, P.O. Box 9136, Corpus Christi, Texas 78469; e-mail Michael Hines at hinesm@caller.com; fax items to (361) 886-3732; or call (361) 886-4316.

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