BRAVO! Closing for Renovation Soon

After more than two decades in business in Jackson, Mangia Bene, which owns BRAVO! Italian Restaurant & Bar, Sal & Mookie’s New York Pizza & Ice Cream Joint and Broad Street Baking Co., recently announced that BRAVO! will soon close its doors for a month-long renovation.

“BRAVO! has been here 23 years. And all this time Dan (Blumenthal) and I have been laser-focused on giving Jackson the best food and service it has ever seen,” co-owner Jeff Good said in a press release. “That will not, will never change. It’s no secret this place is a little dated, a little tired looking. We need to close to address some building issues and we wanted to make that a positive experience—something to celebrate and not moan over. So we are teaming up with Erik Kegler and Brennan Hovell of EK Home and Katie Browning of CDFL Architects to give BRAVO! a fresh, modern look that will honor and celebrate the BRAVO! everyone loves. Along with that is a commitment to bring some of our core practices into the 21st century: a new, better functioning website, an online to-go ordering option and an updated look for the menu.”

The restaurant will close from Monday, Aug. 28, to  Monday, Sept. 25, and will reopen on Tuesday, Sept. 26.

About two weeks before BRAVO! is set to close, the restaurant will host a celebration for the upcoming renovations with its “The Closer” event on Saturday, Aug. 12. The party will feature rare wines from BRAVO!’s cellar that long-time sommelier Lesley McHardy will select, and

Trip Burns/file photo

BRAVO! Italian Restaurant & Bar will soon close for renovations.

hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar. The event will also have an auction for some of BRAVO!’s furniture and accessories and for a seat at the grand reopening on Sept. 26.

“The only way to get a seat, or table, to the unveiling (planned for September 26) will be to bid on it at The Closer Party,” Marketing Manager Susan Farris said in the release. “We’ve already had many inquiries from our long-time regulars about how they can reserve their favorite table for the reopening so they can celebrate with us that we came to realize we really had to turn this into a celebration. The energy and the joy is there. And who doesn’t love an excuse for wine at BRAVO!? We also immediately had questions about what would happen to the furniture. So many people have great memories with family and friends at these tables and under these lights. Or have admired that painting or this mirror. They want to bring that history home with them. Why not have some fun with it?”

Tickets to “The Closer” are $60 a person or $100 for a couple. Guests can purchase tickets here or at BRAVO!. For more information about BRAVO! Italian Restaurant & Bar (4500 Interstate 55 N., 601-982-8111), visit bravobuzz.com.