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Sabio business partners Tim Zombek (right) and executive chef Javier Lanza.Photo by Emily Moseley
Sabio is Portuguese for “wise, intelligent” — the kind of person attracted to creative fare offered in the casually elegant setting of an historic place of learning; the kind of individual who appreciates the idea of adaptive reuse. It’s the name business partners Tim Zombek and Javier Lanza have chosen for the concept they have opened in Dudley Square, the iconic 19th century schoolhouse on the corner of West Maxwell and South Mill streets.
“Upscale casual is what we’re going for,” said executive chef Javier Lanza. “Our food is different. We’re up there with the finest restaurants in Lexington. We are more competitive when it comes to pricing. We’re the new kids in town, and we don’t want to rip people off. We don’t want to charge $23 for a chicken dish. We’ll be okay charging $19.”
The space, seating 180 in dining rooms, a patio and bar, was formerly occupied by Dudley’s Restaurant for 28 years prior to its relocation to Short Street. It has been transformed with much attention to creating a relaxing atmosphere while paying homage to the building’s history — including the bar.
“That was the original detention room for the school,” explained Zombek, Lanza adding, “This is like the best detention room ever.”
Building owner Bobby Friesberg restored the old schoolhouse doors, adorning each with a brass plaque bearing the name of a teacher at the old school.
In keeping with the attention to turning something past its prime into something new and useful, the motif is contemporary, featuring distinctive schoolroom-style chairs manufactured from recycled plastic Coca-Cola bottles. Natural light pouring through the building’s outsized windows is filtered by the prism effect of crystal chandeliers.
Provided the city’s Historic Preservation Office approves, the patio will be enclosed in glass and feature a fireplace in the winter months.
The basement kitchen has been completely remodeled, the appliances updated and new dumbwaiters installed between floors. Future plans call for a chef’s table where diners can experience the preparation of cuisine up-close and personal.
On the menu, guests will find appetizers including escargot in cognac butter, garlic and tarragon; a crab and pimento fondue; mussels; and a white bean gratin. There are a variety of salads and entrees fashioned from chicken, duck, scallops, filet, lamb, pork and pasta. The Detention Bar will also have its own menu, including artisanal cheeses, bruschetta, kimchi ribs, quail, ceviche and a California Cobb salad.
Lanza will grow his own herbs next to the patio and plans to bring local flavors to the table.
“We want to use as much Kentucky-Proud produce as we possibly can. That is key to everything we do,” Lanza said.
While Chef Lanza has focused on the many aspects of food service, manager Zombek has been fine-tuning the business model.
“We really feel that we’ve hit a niche,” Zombek said. “We want to stray toward the upscale line, but, as you can see, the prices are very affordable.”
Sabio will also offer catering.
Zombek and Lanza recently took time to go out for a stroll for a meet and greet.
“We do all our business locally,” said Zombek. “We try to support all our neighbors — the print shop, the coffee shop. We visited all of these shops, and they were really ecstatic that we are doing something here because of the traffic.”
And speaking of traffic, “there’s additional parking now,” added Zombek, “so it’s much more convenient. There’s a lot here and a lot across the street. And there is street parking. So parking is not an issue for us at all.”
The partnership of Zombek and Lanza brings together two rising talents who have arrived at that point in life and career when it’s time to blaze a distinctive trail.
Zombek has owned restaurants in the New York area, helped develop Milwaukee’s Mo’s restaurant and after arriving in Lexington, spent 12 years as director of new business development at Fazoli’s, where he was involved in conceiving the Bella Notte concept.
Lanza was born into the culinary business. His grandmother and mother operate a small hotel in La Saba, Honduras, a town on the Caribbean where the family had relocated from Spain. As boys, he and his brothers caught shrimp where the nearby river meets the ocean, brought home their catch and cooked it.
Lanza spent time honing his skills in New York, arriving in Kentucky in 1996 as executive chef at the renowned Paris bed and breakfast, Amelia’s Field Country Inn. He went on to open the popular Migdalia’s restaurant in Paris and served as executive chef at Jean Farris Winery. Following a stint in California, he returned to Lexington to open the Signature Club in Lansdowne.
His goal is to make wonderful food accessible and affordable, he said.
“I don’t want to have the best restaurant in the world. I want to have a restaurant for everybody in the world. That’s one thing that I’m trying to accomplish here in Lexington,” he said.
“Partnering with the right person and having the right relationship and understanding your strengths are key,” said Zombek, who met Lanza earlier in 2012 through mutual friends. “We have a great culinary person. Hopefully we have a great business person, and we can combine our talents and accomplish our goals as far as creating a really great hospitality and dining experience.”
The atmosphere Lanza discovered upon his 1996 arrival in Lexington rings familiar today. Back then, Kentucky had just brought home another NCAA championship.
“When you’re a soccer fan, you’re obsessed with it,” Lanza said. “Rarely do you get to meet people as crazy as soccer fanatics — until you move to Lexington, Kentucky, and you think, ‘Oh sure, I got it. These are my people.’”
“Lexington is home,” he said. “My daughter is from here. So I’m a Kentucky Wildcat.”
Sabio will be open Monday through Sunday, serving lunch at 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and dinner from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. (Detention Bar open until 11 p.m.) Brunch will be served Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Reporting for this article by Erik A. Carlson