Since opening the doors of their first concept—The Brickyard Downtown—in 2016, Gavin Jacobs and Chandler icons Jackie and Elliott Hall have been focused on serving the local community by creating delicious destinations for visitors and locals alike, welcoming all through their doors as if already friends.
This focus and Brickyard’s success led to the opening of Hidden House in 2019, and then post-pandemic, the announcement of two more Chandler concepts from the team in coffee, beer, and wine restaurant Maple House and the new Elliott's Steakhouse.
“Maple will open by year’s end after the summer’s record-breaking heat delayed us a bit, and we are very proud to be up and running at Elliott's Steakhouse, a true high-end seafood and steakhouse that will continue to raise the bar of the culinary reputation in our great city,” says operating manager Michael Regan.
The 6,500-square-foot restaurant with 1,000 square feet of private dining space is as much an architectural marvel as an epicurean one.
“Elliott’s is located in the Rowena Theater building, which dates back to the silent movie era in the 1930s and was Elliott Hall’s favorite spot to see films while growing up in the 1940s,” says Regan. “To honor the theatre, we stripped it during the design process to expose the gorgeous brick from its heyday, complementing it with black steel; dark woods; and modern, masculine fixtures and accents.”
One of the most impressive focal points in the restaurant is the 47-foot bar, which has four 14-foot arches that come together to create what is as much an art installation as a functional space for spirits from around the world.
The kitchen is co-led by executive chef Nick Gibbs, whom locals will know from The Brickyard, and corporate chef Brent Tratten, who also heads Hidden House. Together, they have developed a menu that is equal parts classic and experimental, including a raw bar, dry-aged steaks from the lauded Meats by Linz, seafood and shellfish flown in fresh several times a week, and epic sides made using local ingredients when possible.
Bar manager Michael Testa developed the impressive cocktail menu with direction from Regan, a veteran bartender.
“We have a line of classic cocktails using high-end spirits, and given I am a big whiskey guy, we took great care in hand-selecting several barrels to age and use in our Old Fashioned offerings,” says Regan. “We also wanted to continue to celebrate the creativity in cocktails for which we have become known at The Brickyard and Hidden House, so we have eight specialty cocktails made with no limits except our own creativity.”
With these, expect everything from a martini fat-washed in olive oil to whiskey cocktails made with house pecan bitters and pecan smoke. There are also 130 wines on the current menu, with plans to eventually expand to about 300.
Then finally, there is the name.
“In 2022, as we were making this restaurant a reality, Elliott Hall passed away,” says Regan. “Elliott’s is named to honor our friend, partner, and true steward of Chandler for his entire life.”