Fine-dining restaurant Amelia Gene’s is opening Downtown on Sunday, Oct. 22.

The 5,200-square-foot, 140-seat restaurant is at 255 S. Front St., which was formerly Ellis & Sons Machine Shop.

Johnson Studio at Cooper Carey completed the renovations, aiming to keep the historic feel while adding feminine accents to create an elegant dining and bar experience, managing partner and executive chef Nate Henssler said.

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“(The Johnson Studio) transformed that inner space with beautiful natural light by adding a top row of windows, beautiful flooring with some charred wood floors, exposed brick, some lanterns on the walls,” Henssler said. “So the physical space is really stunning.”

Henssler was recruited last year by Chance Carlisle of Carlisle Restaurant Group to open a fine-dining restaurant in this “brutish, masculine-looking” building. 

“(Carlisle) wanted to have what would be considered a fine-dining restaurant in any city in America,” Henssler said. “I would call it modern American.” 

Henssler said Amelia Gene’s was named after one of Carlisle’s three daughters, who is known for being the more “strong, outspoken young woman” of the three. Carlisle and his wife felt the space reminded them of their daughter’s “headstrong” attitude. 

“There are some callbacks to that in the space because there’s a painting right when you walk in of a girl standing on top of a horse looking very strong, proud looking young woman,” Henssler said.

The architects and the design group wanted to create a mythology for the restaurant around Amelia Gene Carlisle’s personality, Henssler said. 

“(The architects and design group) created this mythology of Amelia Gene almost being like the feminine hero of the space,” Henssler said. “There are a lot of just really nice, fine feminine touches, not so much in the color but in the detail.”

Henssler’s background includes two decades of leading kitchens in Chicago and Las Vegas, including Michelin-starred restaurants and working under James Beard award winners.

“I wanted to change people’s expectations of what fine dining is, that it can be in Memphis,” Henssler said.

In Amelia Gene’s kitchen, Henssler will be joined by chef Jonathan Lazo and breadmaker Cherie Canelas, owner of the bread micro-bakery Artesanal De Tela.

Henssler said many restaurants, even fine-dining concepts, don’t have in-house breadmakers. Amelia Gene’s will be an exception under the care of Canelas. 

“I’ve worked in several parts of the country, and there’s really only a few restaurants in America who have the luxury of having your own breadmaker,” Henssler said. “That is something I’m really excited about and proud of.”

One aspect of the restaurant that Henssler is excited about is the Spanish charcoal grill. 

“In the kitchen, we have this beautiful Spanish charcoal grill that is completely manual, that runs on charcoal, not wood,” Henssler said. “Right now, about 40% of the dishes are touched at some point on that grill.” 

The menu will have a proper bites section that will be hors d’oeuvres, starters, pasta and dinner made with locally farmed ingredients.

Henssler said he wanted to give Downtown Memphis something else special: cheese. Amelia Gene’s will have a cheese program, a cart of domestic cheeses before the dessert course. 

“Everyone loves cheese. After you’re done with your dinner, you’re thinking about dessert, but then you see this cheese cart roll up that has six to 10 options on it with in-house made baguettes,” Henssler said. 

Henssler said a nostalgic dish for him is the grilled radicchio salad in the starters section. The salad has coal-roasted radicchio, apple, almond, aged Gouda, bottarga and green-goddess dressing. 

“When I was younger, working in kitchens, it was a lot of other grilled salads and pasta salads that chefs were doing, and that is a tribute to that,” Henssler said.

When trying Amelia Gene’s for the first time, Henssler said to come in with an open mind, be prepared for some little surprises and let them take care of the rest.

“There is nothing in Memphis like this; I can assure you that,” Henssler said. “I’m excited to showcase what we are able to do.” 

Amelia Gene’s will be open Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays from 5 to 9 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays from 5 to 10 p.m. The restaurant accepts reservations and walk-ins but will not take reservations for the bar and lounge area.