Elli Bistro, a casual dining French bistro will soon be moving into the Pelican Place at Craft Farms in the space that was formerly Indigo Joe’s.

Scheduled to open the first week of January, Elli Bistro will be the third restaurant along the Gulf Coast owned by Lane and Ginny Gilbert.

Presently the couple operates Ginny Lane Bar and Grill, a popular dining spot serving classic continental cuisine, and Villaggio Grille which serves Mediterranean and Italian dishes. Both are located at The Wharf in Orange Beach.

While many would assume a French Bistro would mean white table clothes and high prices, Lane Gilbert says the food will be exquisite, but the atmosphere and the prices will be much more casual.

“Our price points will be anywhere from $10 to $20, so we are going to hopefully appeal to a large audience,” Gilbert said. “We will focus on a very detailed wine list with French selections as well as California and Oregon selections.”

Scott Lokey, the executive chef at Ginny Lane, along with Jason Ramires, who presently works as chef at Villaggio’s, will both be moving to Elli Bistro and working together to present a tastefully unique menu that Gilbert believes will be a big hit in the area.

A new look

Gone are the 60-plus televisions that lined the walls of Indigo Joe’s. Actually five will remain in the bar area, but other than that, Gilbert said that in the remodeling process, everything came out of the building except for the studs in the walls.

“We’ve taken down the dry wall, pulled up the carpeting and the wood floor, we’ve sanded down and stained the concrete, and we’ve stained all the wood, making it darker and will have a white marble bar top,” Gilbert said.

“We think the space is a great location, but the previous operation wasn’t set up to do what we want to do, so there was a lot of work that needed to be done.”

Battling economy

Even with local businesses still trying to settle claims with BP, and with a down economy, Gilbert believes his newest restaurant will work in Gulf Shores.

“My wife and I spent a good bit of time talking about this. If we don’t do it because we are afraid, I think we are losing an opportunity,” Gilbert said.

‘Out on a limb’

“I think there are enough people in the Gulf Shores/Orange Beach area that want things to move forward, they are going to be willing to help support an effort like this. I think if we go out on a limb, there is going to be a reward there for us, rather than if we were to look at a different geographical location and moving there.”

Gilbert said that because of the leadership in both Orange Beach and Gulf Shores to get the beaches cleaned up and the municipalities moving forward, he thinks there will be more visitors in the coming year than ever before.

“Our leaders are adamant about making sure the beaches are cleaned up, that it is safe and a good, solid family environment, and we just believe all of those components make for a prime location to have a restaurant.”

Community support

Gilbert said that Mayor Robert Craft, Councilman Steve Jones, Linda Whitlock with the Alabama Gulf Coast Area Chamber of Commerce, and others have been optimistic and have offered advice in order to help make the new establishment a success.