Chef Scott Crawford has worked in kitchens at luxury resorts and high-end restaurants for decades, producing menus and experiences that won both him and his employers awards and accolades and helped make him a household name in the Triangle. But something Crawford has never done, until now, is create a restaurant in an airport.

When he left his restaurants each day, he kept his mind busy imagining what other concepts he might launch. Serendipitously, his phone began to ring as talented service industry professionals who worked for some of the top hospitality companies in the country realized they could move to a market like Raleigh for a lifestyle change.

Between the concepts that Crawford spent his evenings drawing up, the talent that his team was adding, and the pandemic receding with the rollout of vaccinations, the Crawford Hospitality team was ready to make those dreams a reality.

Sous Terre, which means “underground” in French, transformed the former Atlantic Lounge, the bar founded by Cardinal owner Jason Howard. Crawford said he had been exploring spaces throughout Raleigh for a cocktail bar and one day Howard called and offered to sell his. “Sous Terre is born out of a curiosity that (beverage director) Jordan Joseph and I had for creating an intimate cocktail bar in Raleigh,” Crawford said. “We looked at spaces all over the city….Our idea was to create a space that would be warm, intimate and focus on classic cocktails.”

Sous Terre, Scott Crawford’s re-imagining of the former Atlantic Lounge speakeasy in the Oakwood neighborhood, is now open after a significant renovation.

Why it matters: Crawford, one of Raleigh’s most prominent chefs, had searched for years for the right place to open a bar, Crawford Hospitality’s beverage director Jordan Joseph tells Axios.

But it wasn’t until the members-only Atlantic Lounge — located under Crawford’s French bistro Jolie — put itself up for sale late last year that he found a space suitable for the idea.

In many ways, salt is a core concept within Brodeto, cementing itself in the design, execution, and inspiration behind the ethos of the restaurant. When reading through the menu, you can feel that distinct sea breeze and trace the current of the sea through each dish.

“It’s not just a fish soup, it’s a representation of every town or village (in Italy), made with what they have available,” Crawford said. “It ties all the towns together. There might be different recipes, but it all creates something humble that’s craveable and soul-warming. We wanted to evoke those same kind of feelings.”

Despite the immense, almost overwhelming popularity of Italian food in the United States, by pulling from a less touristy and not as culinarily explored area around the country’s bootheel, Crawford can offer something that for many will feel familiar and fresh.

Look for American steakhouse classics at the latest restaurant from the Crawford Hospitality group (Crawford & Son, Crawford Cookshop, and Jolie).

Compared to Crawford’s other three upcoming restaurants, which occupy spaces in large complexes, Sous Terre will be a breeze to get ready, Crawford says. The bones of the bar are already there. And the location is homey to the point where it might as well be called Crawford Corner: the door to Sous Terre is located inside Jolie, and Jolie is adjacent to Crawford & Son. “We don’t have any waiting space in Crawford & Son or Jolie,” Crawford says. “Sometimes, when people are waiting, it’s on us: they have a reservation, they’re there on time, but maybe the guests at their table haven’t left yet. So for a while now, we’ve been offering them a drink downstairs, or next door at Willco, which is another great bar. We have great bars around us,” he says. “But now we’ll own one.”

One of Raleigh’s favorite underground bars will soon be run by one of its favorite chefs.

Driving the news: Acclaimed chef Scott Crawford said Friday he is taking over the members-only Atlantic Lounge in the Oakwood neighborhood and turning it into a new concept called Sous Terre.

Sous terre is French for underground. The bar is located in the basement of Crawford’s French restaurant Jolie.
Details: Crawford takes over the Atlantic Lounge’s lease on Jan. 1 and will redesign it before opening Sous Terre.