Durham’s dining scene will add a serious dose of Michelin-level experience next year when Durham native Alex Catotti returns home to open two new restaurant concepts with his wife and business partner, pastry chef Erin Kobler.
Restaurant Cornelia and The Vintner and The Baker are slated to open in spring 2027 at 949 Washington Street in downtown Durham.
Catotti returns to the Triangle after building his career in some of the country’s most celebrated kitchens. Most recently part of the team at Chicago’s three-Michelin-starred Smyth—which was named the No. 1 restaurant in North America by North America’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2026—Catotti began his culinary career in Durham working under chef Scott Howell at Nana’s.
His career later took him to California’s Restaurant Trokay and then Chicago, where he worked at restaurants including Next, The Loyalist and Bellemore.
For Catotti, the move is as much a homecoming as it is a new restaurant venture.
“Durham has always had a storied restaurant history and a community of genuinely passionate growers and eaters,” Catotti says. “I’ve wanted to be part of that story for a long time.”
Restaurant Cornelia will be the couple’s fine-dining concept, offering a rotating seasonal tasting menu built around local ingredients, fermentation and preservation. Catotti and Kobler plan to work with farmers, fishers and ranchers throughout North Carolina and the South.
The restaurant’s name comes from the Chicago street where the couple shared their first home.
Kobler, meanwhile, brings an impressive pastry résumé. Most recently executive pastry chef at Chicago’s Michelin-starred Sepia and sister restaurant Proxi, she was named a 2024 StarChefs Chicago Rising Star Pastry Chef.
Her work will be especially visible at The Vintner and The Baker, a more casual concept sharing the same space. By day, it will operate as a coffee shop and bakery featuring Kobler’s pastries and thoughtfully sourced coffee. At night, the space will become a full-service wine bar with small plates and an extensive list focusing on natural and low-intervention wines.
The two restaurants are also designed to work together, with ingredients and products crossing between the concepts as part of Catotti and Kobler’s effort to reduce waste and build sustainability into the operation.
“With the bounty of what’s around us, we believe we have everything we need for a world-class table,” Catotti says. “Erin and I can’t wait to share this next chapter with the community that started it all for me as a chef.”
Restaurant Cornelia and The Vintner and The Baker are expected to open in spring 2027.
