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First look: Fontana Di Vino

Tue, 30 Sep 2025 02:23:59 GMT

by Cathy Martin | photographs by Justin Driscoll

Opening Fontana Di Vino was a sort of “rebirth” for Scott Leibfried, the chef and culinary consultant perhaps best-known as a sous chef on the first 10 seasons of the reality-TV series “Hell’s Kitchen.”

In 2012, the New York native teamed with musician Mick Fleetwood to open Fleetwood’s on Front Street in Maui. The restaurant was lost in the devastating 2023 wildfires that spread across the island. While Leibfried kept busy in recent years with product development and consulting projects with major brands like Formula 1 Grand Prix, Soho House and Marriott, the Italian spot at Sharon Square is his first restaurant venture in close to a decade.

Pinsas, pastas and a passion for all things Italy in SouthPark.

Chef Scott Leibfried, left, photograph by Adam Rodrigues Photography

Leibfried and business partner Robert Maynard quietly opened Fontana in May, seeking to create a casual, neighborhood space for folks to share a pizza and a bottle of wine or enjoy a salad and a bowl of pasta. The restaurant is located in the space that previously housed Dogwood Southern Table and the short-lived Fox & Falcon by David Burke.

The soft opening allowed time for the team to gather feedback on the menu and make adjustments, the partners say.

“We try to walk the line between doing what we set out to do as best we can but also listening to feedback in the community,” Leibfried says. Menu highlights include shareable dishes like mussels and meatballs, along with house-made pastas like pumpkin ravioli and a cacio e pepe tartufo with shaved Molise black truffles.

Then there are the Roman-style pinsas, with toppings like mortadella, provolone, stracciatella and pistachios; roasted mushrooms, spinach, ricotta and mozzarella; or a simple caprese with roasted cherry tomatoes, mozzarella and basil. The crispy, light and airy crust is thanks to a combination of wheat, soy and rice flour, making the dough less filling than traditional pizzas.

Right: Chocolate caramel tart

Steaks are USDA prime, and chops (porchetta and veal) are carved tableside. Another unique tableside dish is the polenta pour, a shareable board of Parmesan polenta topped with roasted mushrooms, rapini, meatballs and garlic spinach.

Recent additions include a chicken Parm with rigatoni and a grown-up riff on SpaghettiOs, topped with stracciatella.

Unsurprisingly, Italy is well-represented on the wine list, which provides user-friendly descriptions highlighting regions and varietals. There are plenty of California selections, too, for the less adventurous.

Fontana isn’t your typical “red-sauce” Italian restaurant, Leibfried notes (though the rich and hearty rigatoni sugo, with pork slow-cooked in red wine and marinara, is nothing to shy away from). Tables are topped with butcher paper, the music is upbeat, and servers wear jeans and henleys for a friendly, informal vibe.

A tableside polenta pour

The partners kept Fox & Falcon updates like white-washed brick columns and wood beams that brightened the previously dim dining room. They made the space their own with new framed art, murals and design details like a daring red-velvet wallpaper.

Leibfried met Maynard, co-founder of the Famous Toastery breakfast chain, years ago at a fast-casual restaurant Leibfried co-owned near Maynard’s New York City home. They soon discovered they had mutual connections and stayed in touch through the years.

Maynard eventually moved to Davidson, where a second location of Fontana Di Vino is slated to open this month. Leibfried still calls southern California home, but he’s in Charlotte regularly to continue fine-tuning the concept.

His passion for Italian cuisine stems from extensive travel to Italy, including a particularly memorable trip two years ago to Amalfi and Puglia. “I’m very much in love with the Italian culture and day-to-day life. It’s really something special.” SP

Fontana Di Vino is located at 4905 Ashley Park Lane.

Featured image: Pumpkin ravioli

Getting a taste of Fontana Di Vino

Thu, 25 Sep 2025 04:30:54 GMT

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WJZY) — The Charlotte area is getting a taste of Italy with Fontana Di Vino. They opened recently in South Park, and are now opening another location in Davidson.

Chef Scott Leibfried, Executive Culinary Creator, explained that they saw a need for some unique Italian cuisine in the Charlotte area, and curated Fontana Di Vino specifically for the Queen City.

Scott showed off some dishes on their menu, like their caprese pinsa, tartufo pinsa with truffle, and their pumpkin ravioli. He showed how they make their Fungi Campanelli, topped with fresh truffle.

New SouthPark restaurant offers interactive tableside dining and fresh pasta

Mon, 28 Jul 2025 04:24:35 GMT

Fontana Di Vino is a new Italian restaurant in SouthPark offering freshly made pastas and interactive family-style dining experiences.

Why it matters: Chef Scott Leibfried brings a fun atmosphere and an engaging menu to Fontana Di Vino, following his time with Gordon Ramsay on "Hell's Kitchen" and his Hawaiian restaurant with Fleetwood Mac's Mick Fleetwood, which was destroyed in the 2023 fires, CBJ reported .

Context: Much of Leibfried's extensive background in the restaurant industry influenced his vision for his south Charlotte restaurant. In May, he partnered with Charlotte-based Famous Toastery co-founder Robert Maynard to bring his latest concept to life.

In addition to spending 10 seasons as a sous chef on Hell's Kitchen, Leibfried has worked at Michelin-starred restaurants in London, and owned restaurants in Santa Barbara and Manhattan.

What they're saying: Leibfried tells Axios that while working on his Maui restaurant with Fleetwood, they often hosted unexpected live performances— an experience that taught him the value of creating a space that's bold and full of surprises, something he plans to incorporate at Fontana Di Vino.

"We have table-side services, which I've always loved my entire life, but you only see them in environments where, you know, there's white gloves and people are wearing tuxedos. Those are the types of things that I think everybody should have the opportunity to experience," Leibfried said.

Cioppino ($48) at Fontana Di Vino. Photo: Alexis Clinton/Axios

Some of their specialty dishes can be prepped and explained at the table. Photo: Alexis Clinton/Axios

The polenta pour can feed two people. Photo: Alexis Clinton/Axios

Dig in: Expect a menu that features traditional Italian cuisine with ingredients like black truffles sourced from Italy and fresh pasta, along with innovative touches such as pinsa — a Roman-style flatbread pizza.

The restaurant offers multiple tableside activations — such as a polenta pour and veal chop — where the ingredients are prepped and plated in front of you to create an interactive and educational experience.

Drinks include an extensive selection of Italian and California wines, plus classic cocktails with an innovative twist. Highlights include a sangria topped with sorbet and a lemon drop made with limoncello that tastes like key lime pie.

The Campanelle Tartufo ($55) has a pecorino romano, egg yolk, black pepper and shaved molise black truffle from Italy. Photo: Alexis Clinton/Axios

The Mortadella pinsa is their take on a Roman flatbread with mortadella, provolone, mozzarella, pistachio and stracciatella. Photo: Alexis Clinton/Axios

The vibe: The 5,000-square-foot space has eclectic artwork and indoor bar, table, and patio seating for 160 people. Eventually, they hope to offer weekly live music.

Stop by: Find Fontana Di Vino at 4905 Ashley Park Lane , the space formerly occupied by David Burke's Falcon & Fox , which closed after less than a year in business.

Fontana Di Vino open Sunday through Thursday 4-9:30pm, Friday and Saturday 4-10:30pm.

What's next: By the end of the summer, the restaurant will offer a private counter dining experience served family style. The hope is to also open their second restaurant in Davidson by September.

The wrap around bar has plenty of seating. Photo: Alexis Clinton/Axios

Throughout the restaurant, you'll notice murals and eclectic artwork. Photo: Alexis Clinton/Axios

New Italian restaurant in Charlotte already has a Lake Norman location coming

Fri, 23 May 2025 04:26:31 GMT

It’s been a week since Fontana di Vino opened in the former The Fox & Falcon space in Charlotte, and a second location — in Lake Norman — is already in the works. A Fontana di Vino sign for that second location has gone up in Davidson, spotted by eagle-eyed onlookers on the Lake Norman Eats Facebook group. It’s outside the former Davidson Ice House building, which held Hot Mess for just a few weeks after the popular neighborhood restaurant closed to rebrand.

The building is tucked in a high-traffic cluster of locally owned dining establishments: charcuterie spot Table & Board, Mediterranean restaurant Habibi Lebanon and The Crazy Pig, which recently merged with The Egg Cafe to serve breakfast in the morning and barbecue for lunch and dinner. The Hot Mess venture that was most recently in the building was a partnership between former Davidson Ice House chef/owner Jennifer Brulé and Robert Maynard, CEO of Won Life Holdings and co-founder and CEO of Famous Toastery.

Fontana di Vino’s Spaghetti Pomodoro. Fontana di Vino

Fontana di Vino offers a variety of pasta choices, including Spaghetti Pomodoro (left); Spaghetti alla Nerano (right), with roasted zucchini, basil and pecorino Parmesan; and Rigatoni Sugo, with slow-cooked pork in red wine and marinara. Fontana di Vino

The Italian restaurant, a partnership between Maynard and former “Hell’s Kitchen” chef Scott Leibfried, opened in Charlotte for dinner service Friday, May 16. Daily lunch service and Sunday Supper, from noon-8 p.m., will follow June 2.

Lorna Martinez, vice president of marketing for Won Life Brands, confirmed to CharlotteFive that the Davidson locatin will open in late 2025.

The chef’s point of view

Leibfried told CharlotteFive that the restaurant’s foundations stemmed from his friendship with Maynard and a long trip to Italy.

“We took everything that we really love about hospitality, about service, about experience, and about escape and about journey — you know, all the things that are really important to me as a hospitality professional — and just really decided it’s time we bring (this) to life in order to have some fun here and really just give people a good time,” Leibfried said.

For Leibfried, making sure that good time extends to everyone involved in the restaurant is crucial.

“What I do want to talk about ... is making people feel noticed and making people feel like they’ve had an experience. And on top of that, making the team that’s doing that and performing that service ... feel as equally as important in the process, and make them feel the same thing that the guests are feeling.

“That’s really important, to me, that we keep on that path.”

Fontana di Vino’s food

As for the food, “I would want people to know is we’re not a traditional red sauce environment — that’s just not who we are,” Leibfried said. “We would want people to embrace who we are for what we do, and not look at us for what we don’t do.”

At Fontana di Vino’s Charlotte location, the menu offers a mozzarella bar and a variety of Italian appetizers including meatballs, mussels and Roman flatbread.

Fontana di Vino’s Marsala Cove Mussels are steamed with garlic, wine, soppressata, red sauce and crema, and come served with ciabatta. Fontana di Vino

Fontana di Vino offers several options for prime steak: filet mignon, ribeye, bone-in KC or NY strip, and domestic Wagyu flat iron. Fontana di Vino

Fontana di Vino

Location: 4905 Ashley Park Lane, Charlotte, North Carolina 28210 (now open)

The entrees — of course — include fresh pasta made in house. Other options are prime steaks and house specials such as a porchetta chop for two, cioppino and a veal parmesan chop.

The beverage program leans heavily on Italian cocktails such as Negronis and spritzes, and wines with varieties available by the glass and by the bottle.