Our Story
Chris Grove grew up in Lancaster, spent a decade cooking in some of New York's best kitchens, and came home to open his dream restaurant. The Brazen Bull is the result.
Lancaster roots.
New York kitchens.
Chris didn't set out to be a chef. Landscaping after high school, a few semesters of community college, neither stuck. A cousin got him a line cook job at a chain restaurant, and somewhere in that kitchen he found the thing he actually wanted to do.
That turned into a decade of chasing bigger kitchens, ending in New York. Here's the short version.
Roberta's
That pizza plan is what pulled Chris to Roberta's in Brooklyn, one of the city's best pizza spots. Learned the dough. Did mobile events. Moved to Nashville for a year to help open their first location there. That's where The Brazen Bull really started taking shape.
Coming home,
going all in
Chris turned 30 in Nashville, nearly a decade away from family in PA. He knew it was time to come home and build something of his own.
The first swings missed. A food truck that didn't pan out. Tuesday pop-ups at a local brewery, until a fire destroyed the equipment in storage. The brewery asked if he could do something indoors, and The Gloomy Rooster was born. It ran about a year and a half. The whole time, pizza was the real goal. He kept developing his Roman style dough on the side and competed at the Pizza Expo in Atlantic City and Las Vegas.
When 211 left Southern Market for their own spot, the space opened up. Nobody in Lancaster was doing Roman style. Right move, right time. Chris is closing the Rooster to go all in on The Brazen Bull.
The Brazen Bull is a ten year old dream finally coming to life. Back home where I grew up, developed my passion for food, and my career started.
Chris Grove, Owner and ChefCome try it
Just show up. Roman slices available all day, open to close.