Gallus Handcrafted Pasta to Open in Original Hen of the Wood Waterbury Location

Mushroom-ricotta ravioli with brown butter and sage Credit: Courtesy

Gallus Handcrafted Pasta will open before summer in the historic Waterbury mill that housed the original Hen of the Wood before it relocated last spring to South Main Street after 17-plus years, said Eric Warnstedt, chef and owner of Heirloom Hospitality.

Warnstedt’s group owns both of those restaurants, along with Hen of the Wood in Burlington, Doc Ponds in Stowe and Prohibition Pig in Waterbury. Heirloom is also partnering with the Hilton Burlington Lake Champlain at 60 Battery Street to launch a casual seafood restaurant called Original Skiff Fish + Oyster this spring.

When Gallus opens at 92 Stowe Street, it will offer dinner with a focus on fresh pasta made in the large nearby kitchen of Hen of the Wood. Hen Waterbury’s executive chef, Antonio Rentas, and general manager, Emmi Kern, will have an ownership stake in Gallus, said Warnstedt, 48.

The commissary approach will help overcome previous challenges caused by kitchen limitations at the mill, he noted. Along with menu items such as mushroom lasagna and garganelli with oxtail ragù, Gallus will serve a few starters and non-pasta entrées.

The new restaurant’s name refers to Gallus gallus, the ancestor of the domesticated chicken. “It’s a little nod to the original Hen,” Warnstedt said. The décor is being refreshed, so “it will not feel like Hen,” he added.

In March 2023, when Warnstedt confirmed the long-rumored move of the Waterbury Hen of the Wood, he told Seven Days that the Heirloom team was developing “a more family-friendly concept/price point, but still with a very strong farm-to-table ethic” for the Stowe Street restaurant space.

Menu pricing is still to be determined, Warnstedt said, but he hopes Gallus can be less oriented toward special occasions than Hen of the Wood and more of “a weekly stop” for diners.

The original print version of this article was headlined “Gallus Handcrafted Pasta to Open in Hen of the Wood’s Original Waterbury Location”