John Coffelt, Editor

Beech Grove developer Eric Dill is working to open a new steakhouse on the square, called Binninger-Schwartz’ (or affectionately called “BS”) sometime in April.

A farm to table-sourced steakhouse with a modern twist, Binninger-Schwartz’s is located at what was most recently Rymer Dry Cleaners & Laundry, in a building that dates back to the 1930s when it was a Chrysler Plymouth automobile dealership.      

“We want to capture that old school, American feel,” said Chef Brett Binninger-Schwartz, who will handle the daily operation of the restaurant.

“I call it a new American steakhouse,” Binninger-Schwartz said. “It will have all your classics, cuts and sizes, sauces that you expect with a steakhouse. But the rest of the menu around that will be more fun and innovative.”

Dill said that the project is purposely avoiding a chain-restaurant feel.

“It’s something we want to do right,” he said. “That’s what we love here, the environment—the old steel trusses. We’ll soften that with furnishings, but we want people to come in here and to feel the environment.”

Even down to painstakingly replacing the single pane windows, Binninger-Schwartz’ will have the old look of the building. “Even the furnishings in here, we’re not just going to throw you in a seat from Wendy’s. We want people to have that experience — to have a place where they want to come.”     

“We’re environment people… and we want to have good food in that environment,” he said. 

Dill said he’s worked with the historical society to find vintage photographs for the décor from the location’s days as a dealership.

“We like to say we find buildings and then figure out what they need to be. So, at this point, I found this building … and said this needs to be a restaurant. When I saw this building, I said let’s make this happen for Manchester.”

Dill said that Binninger-Schwartz is a family friend and the perfect choice as chef.

“I got to know Brett through his father-in-law and everything I ate of his, was the best I’d ever had,” Dill said.

Binninger-Schwartz, a contestant on Season 21 of Hell’s Kitchen and ranked in 8th place, he started cooking while still a sophomore in high school. As a senior he would spend half the school day in a restaurant kitchen. He then was taken under the tutelage of two former Chicago-based chefs at the nicest restaurant in his Indiana hometown.  

“They really took me under their wing and showed me the ropes of what real food was,” he said. “Not super pretentious food, just thoughtfully crafted, scratch-made delicious food.”

Binninger-Schwartz said that aside from learning the ropes as a cook, he was inspired by the pair to open a place in a small-town neighborhood and become a pillar of the community.

Binninger-Schwartz moved to Nashville’s Husk, where he learned the value of an all-southern ingredient-based menu.

“I learned so much about heirloom produce, heirloom grains – how much you get out of using higher quality produce fruits and meats,” he said.

Binninger-Schwartz began his time as an executive chef at Nada on 21st Avenue, and then moved to Columbus Ohio, when he got an Instagram invite to the “Hell’s Kitchen” show.

“It ended up not being a scam,” he said. “I ended up going out there and meet a bunch of crazy people and a bunch of my heroes. I had a really good time on the show.”

“I went in with kinda a chip on my shoulder. I went in wanting to test myself to see if I could cook how I wanted to cook. I left feeling that I could,” Binninger-Schwartz said.

Dill said he hoped that the restaurant will open in April to May.

“We’re working in an old building here, so you’re always finding new hurdles,” he said. “But I think we will be able to press through pretty quickly.”     

John has been with the Manchester Times since May 2011. John has won Tennessee Press Association awards for Best News Photo and placed in numerous other categories. John is a 1994 graduate of Tullahoma High School, a graduate of Motlow State Community College and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Middle Tennessee State University. He lives in Tullahoma, enjoys painting, dancing and exploring the outdoors.