There was a ribbon cutting in the heart of Downtown Savannah on Thursday. The golden scissor they used to snip the ribbon may have been oversized, but there is just no way to overstate how large the moment was. Savannah Technical College’s downtown campus is now a reality. The new 3 story building at 7 West Bay Street is state of the art, and will offer culinary students the kinds of hands-on kitchen training Savannah Tech has never had.

That’s the headline. Of course, I was there. I was the one smiling right through my daydream way back in the back of the room. Sometimes, because I’m 6 foot 3, it’s just easiest for me to find a wall in the back and lean up against it so as to not obstruct anyone else’s view in this full to capacity front room at the brand new facility. And that it was, very full with a Savannah’s Who’s Who. Every single person in the house swelling with pride because of the significance of the day.

This was a great day for Savannah’s food scene.

This was my first time seeing the space since construction was completed, and it is beautiful. Right inside the doors off of Bay Street is a cafe. They’ll offer fresh baked goods and coffee. Downstairs is their full-blown restaurant and bar. I had no idea what this was going to look like. I just know what the original plan was, and while this was not it, it was stunning nonetheless.

More on those details in a minute.

There is a lot to be excited about with this facility. Yes, as we mentioned, it gives students hands on experience in a restaurant before they go out into the workforce. But from my seat it is also representative of over a decade of dedication to this cause by a large group of people. Board members and otherwise. Some of those people don’t even work at Savannah Tech anymore. Their vision matters as much today as it did 15 years ago. I thought of some of those people quite a bit today.

I will spare you a lengthy history lesson about the origins of this idea for a downtown campus, but it started well over a decade ago with the dogged determination of Chef Jean Vendeville. He was the head of Culinary Arts at Savannah Tech until he retired in 2020. It was he and his students who were in the kitchen at The Mansion on Forsyth Park assisting some of the best chefs in the South ahead of Savannah’s first ever James Beard Foundation event.

Chef Jean dreamed big all the while demanding excellence of his students. If they showed up in his kitchen with dirty shoes or uniforms, he’d send them home. No questions asked. Period.

Chef Jean led student-driven annual Valentines Day and Thanksgiving Bake Sales in hopes of buying a 40 or so thousand dollar pizza oven for his kitchen.

That pizza oven is now in the basement of this new building on Bay Street.

Chef Jean was among the original group at Savannah Tech that saw what was happening to our food scene pre-2014 and realized that they wanted to be in the middle of it all with a downtown campus. Thus, the search for a space began.

I could tell you a lot of the stories, but certainly not all of them. If my seat for all of this wasn’t in the front row, then it wasn’t farther back than the 2nd. There was the time Savannah Tech thought they had a deal for a beautiful building at Liberty and Bull Streets downtown. Yeah, you know the one. Until they didn’t.

They kicked plenty of tires, they looked at plenty of buildings. But, like Goldilocks, they found them to be too big, too small or not the right fit.

Then there was the day they walked into 7 West Bay Street. Some of the Board remembered it as an old night club downtown. The day they walked in was the day Bill Richardson, founder of Wet Willie’s and former Savannah Tech Board Member, famously said

“This is available?” yes. “Well, if you don’t buy it, I will”

Everyone who was there that day will tell you they had a great feeling about this space. Location (directly across the street from the Hyatt and City Hall) was ideal to not only welcome casual diners, but also entertain groups and cooking classes right in the heart of town.

There are a parade of names I could mention here that deserve a lot of love and gratitude for the work done to get Savannah Culinary Institute to this point. But the only one I will mention is Gail Eubanks. During the decade they were chasing this dream, I can’t tell you the number of times I ran into Gail at a restaurant or a farmers market or somewhere else around town. I’d ask her about an update and she’s toss out 18-24 month timelines like they were tic tacs. She and the team at Savannah Tech were dealing with red tape delays at the State level. It was brutal at times. Truthfully, there were private moments where we wondered if it would ever happen. Every single person involved will tell you about the decade-plus waves of emotion.

Mayor Johnson, though, wrapped that up perfectly today by saying “Just because you are delayed doesn’t mean you will be denied.”

And here we are.

The restaurant in the basement will be entirely run by student talent, led by Gearry Caudell, who has been head of Culinary since Chef Jean retired. Menus will change every semester. (Photo of this semester’s menu is below). There is a full bar down there too. I expect there to be a lot of corporate business running through that space. It is perfect for entertaining. Especially with Chef’s pizza oven going over in the corner.

The only down-side as I see it is that the restaurant and cafe will be closed when class is not in session. That includes some of the Summer and more importantly the Christmas/New Year’s Season. That’s the plan for now, anyway. Could that change? I can’t say. What I can say is that this is an institution of higher learning first, then a restaurant. That mindset will rule the day going forward, as it should.

I’m looking forward to enjoying some of the eats they have to offer. They’ve been quietly open for business for a month or so, but I’ve chosen to stay away until any kinks have time to iron themselves out. I’ll be popping in very soon. As should you.

Congratulations to everyone. It’s a great day for Savannah’s food scene.

Savannah Culinary Institute
7 West Bay Street
Savannah, GA 31401

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