Figlia Americana, the new Italian-American cafe serving breakfast and lunch, opens Friday, December 23, at 1100 SE Grand Ave. (inside the Rejuvenation lighting and hardware store). Figlia is the follow-up to Renata (The Oregonian’s 2015 Restaurant of the Year), and owners Sandra and Nick Arnerich say they hadn’t planned to open a second restaurant just 17 months after opening their very first restaurant, but it was an offer they couldn’t refuse.
“The way Figlia came about was really quite natural,” Sandra tells Eater. She says she’d often looked for a cafe to get a quick and healthy breakfast or lunch in the neighborhood. Then, the space inside the Rejuvenation opened up; Rejuvenation helped with the decor, and one of her regulars at Renata, Jim Staicoff, offered to help with design.
The 43-seat Figlia serves espresso-based drinks, smoothies, pastries, salads, toasts, sandwiches, and more, either for eating in, or grab-and-go. Three long, communal tables dominate the center of the room, and it has a relaxed vibe for those wishing to linger. There’s a counter with a display case full of Bakeshop pastries, and the small, open kitchen builds salads and blends smoothies along the north wall.
Breakfast and lunch are served Monday through Saturday, from 7:00 a.m. to 3 p.m. (lunch plates are available beginning at 11 a.m.). Almost all of the items are new, including deli sandwiches featuring house-cured meats, but Renata fans will find its popular Brussels sprouts salad, too.
Matt Sigler, the head chef at Renata and Figlia, “is from Nebraska,” says Sandra. “He wanted to put his American roots into the food.” See the full menu:
- Figlia Americana [Official Site]
- All Previous Figlia Americana Coverage [EPDX]