Back in the day, there was a popular chef running around Savannah while operating a fairly popular spot. A couple of times a week, about the middle of the afternoon, he used to tell his wife he was going to make a run to the bank to deal with a few things. He’d be gone an hour or so, not that the bank business took that long, but there was a bar next door to the bank. That’s where he spent the majority of his hour. I saw him there a few times and the line was always the same “keep it quiet. I’m at the bank.”

I share that story because I’m guessing that half of Savannah will be making similar references when they pay a visit to Savannah’s newest gem of a hotel right smack dab in the middle of town. The highly anticipated Municipal Grand opened to the public on Wednesday evening. It sits at the corner of Broughton and Abercorn Streets downtown. You know, the old city of Savannah municipal building where we all paid our water bills or otherwise applied for business licenses? Yes, that’s the spot. And it’s brought to you by the group behind Death and Company, regarded as one of the top cocktail bars in America.

The transformation from city building to mid-century modern jewel is just magnificent. The reaction from my 23 year old daughter when I shot her a 10 second clip of what the lobby looks like now?

“Bro….”

Yeah, bro. It’s gorgeous.

There’s been quite a bit written about Municipal Grand’s arrival in Savannah in a number of different places, including Garden and Gun Magazine, and we typically aren’t here for hotel tours, but I will share that this is just a beautifully done space. The ‘bones’ that made up the old city building were left largely untouched. There was a swimming pool installed for their rooftop “Sun Club” which I’m told was a challenge, but it is otherwise gorgeous and offers excellent views of downtown Savannah.

More importantly, as it pertains to us in the food department, is the description of the lobby space by one of the property’s owners at a mid-week reception. It’s been described as a ‘community space’, which makes all the sense in the world once you see that the lobby restaurant and bar dominates the entire ground floor. Yes, the whole thing. The front desk check in for most hotels out there is through the door and to the left or the right. Municipal Grand flips that script. Immediately when you walk in through their Broughton Street entrance, there is a hostess stand for seating at the bar and restaurant. The front desk for check in? It’s at the back of the room near the elevators. Yes, through the lobby restaurant. They do have a smaller entrance around the corner on Abercorn which should make access to the front desk easier, but the point is the same. The restaurant dominates the lobby.

Make no mistake, this is a beautiful hotel with a beautiful restaurant and soon to be basement bar. But it was also designed to be a beautiful restaurant and bar with a hotel on top. That may not necessarily work for everyone, but I personally love it.

This is not the kind of place you are walking through with a stroller, ipads and sippy cups anyway. There are plenty of spots for that in Savannah and Municipal Grand ain’t it.

So what about the food? There were a few nibbles passed on Wednesday, which I passed on. Looking forward to a proper visit soon. A visit they describe this way:

“Guests can expect shareable snacks like croquettes with mortadella and pistachio, Persian cucumbers with stracciatella and dill, and seafood options like crudo, oysters, and chilled shrimp that can be enjoyed solo or built into a tower. Larger plates include whole branzino with salsa verde, pork roast with stone fruit and pickled cucumber, and a signature Municipal Burger with yolk jam and American cheese.

Brunch offerings lean comfort-forward with French toast with ricotta and maple butterscotch, Carolina Gold rice porridge, and a crispy chicken sando with hot honey and aioli—while daytime menus round out with oysters, garden lettuces, and classic steak frites.”

Food will be available from 8am until 11pm. I suspect it will be delicious. I will report back on that soon.

In the meantime, if you hear anyone around downtown Savannah telling you that they’ll be back in a bit because they need to go pay their water bill, there’s only one place I will look for them.

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