Detroit Chef Plans New Sicilian Restaurant Following SheWolf Success

Chef Anthony Lombardo will soon launch a Sicilian eatery near his hit spot SheWolf in Detroit's Cass Corridor. His first venture has served Roman dishes to city residents since 2018.

"We want to take you to Italy. We want to take you to the motherland," Lombardo said, according to WXYZ. He aims to build opportunities for rising kitchen stars, to "create a culinary environment where a lot of these young chefs don't have to leave Michigan in order to get the experience that they want."

Born in Sterling Heights, Lombardo studied cooking in Italy during the early 2000s. "I thought I was Italian, but I was not Italian. I had to really go back to Italy to understand it," said Lombardo.

His Italian stint showed him the stark differences between each area's food and wine. While starting with wines from Piemonte, he later found his passion in Sicilian cooking. "It's super unique and also reminds me of Michigan in that it's super multicultural," Lombardo noted.

After cooking in Washington D.C. for ten years, he returned to his roots. The city had changed. "You could feel the city getting better. New coffee shop. Cool new restaurant with a unique chef. It wasn't like that when I was a young chef. Now, there's definitely a scene," he explained.

The name SheWolf stems from Roman myths, with dishes that bring old Rome to life. The chef sees links between both cities. "Because Rome, like Detroit, has a lot of history. Rise again, fall again. You should be able to lift SheWolf right out of the Cass Corridor and drop it in the middle of Rome, Bologna or Milan," Lombardo said.