Chad Colby’s Antico Tracks Toward Late Fall Debut Along Busy Beverly Boulevard

Chad Colby’s summer just keeps getting busier. The former Chi Spacca chef is about to spearhead a new focaccia sandwich pop-up at inside The Fields, LA Football Club’s standalone food hall attached to Banc of California Stadium near Downtown, and in his downtime he’s been doing heavy construction on his upcoming sit-down restaurant Antico.

Eater has confirmed the location of Antico for the first time, with the restaurant landing an anchor storefront at the end of a small retail strip next door to The Dover apartment complex on Beverly Boulevard, just west of Western and blocks from Larchmont. The former Royale club space is being turned over now, with a hopeful construction timeline running through the middle of fall. That means, barring any setbacks, Antico will open before the end of 2018.

The strip mall location immediately makes Trois Mec a comparison point. Both have parking lots up front and other operating businesses next door, but bring a finer-dining ethos once inside. For Colby that means a large wood-fired oven in the back and lots of pastas made in house, many from old, one-of-a-kind noodle dies imported straight from Europe. He’s calling the whole thing “formal Italian countryside-style dining,” with a fluid dining format that lets customers order a la carte, do split pasta tastings in the middle of a group dinner, or handle multiple course tasting menu-style meals. Yes, there will still be plenty of grilled meats, and lots of wine.

Right now, Colby is targeting an opening in the last month or so of the year, with construction ideally wrapping up by October. In the meantime there is Piccolo Antico sandwiches to be eaten at The Fields, or at another, separate wine bar space sometime down the line. Talk about a busy guy.

Antico. 4653 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA.

• LAFC Stadium Food Hall Will Open on August 14 in South LA [ELA]