H Street Kitchen is getting a brand new look this October. La Stella Wood Fired, a part of the Pizza La Stella group, will be taking over the space on Hillsborough Street and owner Rudy Theale is ready to make his mark on the neighborhood.
Everything cooked in the restaurant will be wood-fired; there will be no other cooking apparatuses. They have two 7,000 pound wood burning ovens that cook at 1,000 degrees. The ovens are painted a beautiful NC State red and written on them are the words “Go Wolfpack” in italian. However, this restaurant is not really considered italian. Theale described it more as American meets wood-fired.
“When I started this concept of wood-fired food, I started with wings and pizza, this is our core,” Theale said. “Chef Matt Kepp and I started trying out different kinds of food in this oven, and we realized it was all amazing.”
Their menu will include a “craft your own salad” section, six-eight specialty entrees, medium-priced drinks, pizzas, appetizers, a kids menu, and desserts. The restaurant will also serve brunch every Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., featuring waffles provided by Smash Waffles.
“You’ll be charged an average rate to have above average stuff, but nothing will be expensive,” Theale said. “The food will be fresh, wood-fired and awesome”.
Some of the specialty menu items include a sandwich called a Puccia, which is a circle of dough that they cook and stuff with steak and cheese-or anything else they can think of. Other menu items featured are Dr. Pepper flavored wings, mac & cheese tacos with lobster, steak, or chicken, and handcrafted wood-fired veggies — specifically roasted cauliflower with cayenne, crème vanilla, and a hint of brown sugar.
Another addition to the menu is a specialty pizza called “The Southerner”, is made with bourbon bbq pork, white cheddar, apple bourbon chicken, and a collard-styled brussel sprout. For dessert one option is a “Gimme Smores Skillet” that has rich chocolate chip cookie dough, topped with nutella, marshmellow, chocolate chips and vanilla chips.
“We want it to be the chill neighborhood place where families can certainly bring the kids for a killer dinner, but after 10:30-11 p.m., it’s going to become a very student-friendly environment,” Theale said. “I want people to feel comfortable.”
The restaurant staff have designed the space in a way that makes you feel comfortable. By using old barn wood, giant tree trunk light fixtures, and cutting down some of the walls that separated the rooms, the restaurant feels more open and welcoming. La Stella is also taking advantage of the upstairs and has turned it into an indoor/outdoor secondary bar area.
Where there was a map of Raleigh, there will soon be an impressive mural dedicated to the Wolfpack. Rachel Adam, a muralist, described their vision for the wall and her excitement to be working on it.
“I’m extremely excited the owners of La Stella brought me on to preserve the heritage of NC State but present it in a modern way,” Adam said.
It starts with an old NC State quarterback throwing the ball to a group of new players, but they all have wolf heads. As you continue up the wall there are World War I soldiers under the Memorial Belltower and more people with the heads of wolves heading up to a party scene. The restaurant will feel like an extension of campus, but not only because of the mural. Theale has ordered a 7 foot tall stuffed wolf to place at the entrance.
“[About the statue] Think about how great for selfies it will be,” Theale said. “I want this place to be the NC State hangout spot.”
Theale has some great ideas which I think will attract many students to La Stella. They’re running lots of student friendly specials — one particularly cool one — $5 late night pizza. At about 2 a.m., they’ll close the inside and serve out-the-window mini pizzas with water. A $9.95 lunch special including a pizza, or calzone, or puccia. There will be karaoke nights, live music from NC State student bands two to three times a week and DJ’s once a week.
“We’re going to have events driven around being the spot for away games,” Theale said. “We have 28 TVs in this place but it won’t be in your face, if you want to watch you can.”
Every month they are partnering with one local brewery and creating a menu around one of their beers, with sauces, sandwiches, drinks and pizzas.
“It’ll be an ode to the local beer scene” Theale said.
With lots of changes coming to Hillsborough street, La Stella Wood Fired is definitely aiming to stand out among others but also join the wolfpack. Owner and restaurateur Rudy Theale has more than enough ideas to turn heads towards La Stella, set to open early October.
La Stella Wood Fired on Hillsborough Street undergoes renovations Wednesday. The new restaurant is replacing H-Street Kitchen, which closed earlier this year. La Stella Wood Fired is owned by Pizza La Stella, which is a wood-fired concept restaurant in downtown Raleigh.
