Michael Malone, the driving force behind Capitol Hill developer Hunters Capital, is no dummy. He and his #1 tenant Elliott Bay Book Company may be fighting for better nightlife balance in Pike/Pine but he probably already knew that, when it comes to why people go out in the neighborhood, “60% came for drinking, 41% for dining, 23% for dancing, and 21% came to watch live music.”

Those stats are why Malone is teaming up with one of the surest bets in Seattle food and drink for a premier commercial space in the under-construction Dunn Automotive building, his showcase of Pike/Pine preservation incentives and development at the corner of Pike and Summit.

CHS has learned that all-star chef/owner Ethan Stowell is inked to create a 2,200 square-foot restaurant inside the preservation and development project slated to rise to eight stories above E Pike on the back of the neighborhood’s “conservation district”s incentive program.

Representative for Stowell Restaurants and Hunters Capital declined to comment on the project at this time. Across the street, by the way, another Hunters Capital renovation included a much larger food and drink anchor as the massive Trove “fourplex” opened in September 2014.

The E Pike new venture for Stowell comes amid a period of incredible expansion for the restaurateur and will create the chef’s fourth venue on Capitol Hill after Bar Cotto opened next to his Anchovies and Olives in 2013. Also on 15th Ave, his Rione XIII opened in fall 2012.

Stowell is next slated to open Bramling Cross in Ballard this month. “Ethan describes it as a gastropub, ‘specializing in the beers of Ballard, Fremont, and Seattle.’,” Seattle Met informs.

What the chef-preneur has planned for his first foray into Pike/Pine proper is unknown. The Eater Seattle archives for the PR-prolific chef run deep if you’re looking for clues. Here’s what the 40-something restaurant creator told Eater last month about “the future of dining” ––

I think traditional retail is being redefined now by so many purchases happening online. Not saying it’s good or bad, it’s just happening. That being said, it leaves a lot of retail spaces open for service based businesses like restaurants, coffee shops, hair salons, massage parlors, etc… Basically things you can’t get on the Internet. So I would expect more service based businesses, like restaurants, to get opportunities. I have no idea if the success rate of restaurants will get better but I expect to see many more restaurants open and, unfortunately, close. But my belief is that the good ones will survive.

Like we said, so much for retail in Pike/Pine.

In the meantime, feel free to let Stowell know which of his many concepts you’re hoping to see on E Pike in the CHS comments.

UPDATE 3/18/2016: Looks like we win a Tavolata:

Stowell opened the original version of his pasta-centered concept in Belltown way back in 2007.

UPDATE 6/13/2016: The new Tavolata has been officially announced and is slated to open this month:

Second Tavolàta Slated for June Opening

Chef Ethan Stowell Brings Belltown Favorite to Capitol Hill 

SEATTLE, June 13, 2016 — Ethan and Angela Stowell are excited to announce their newest restaurant: a second iteration of Belltown’s Tavolàta, set to open at 501 East Pike Street in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood later this month.

The original Tavolàta opened in 2007, and was Stowell’s first foray into the modern Italian cooking style he’s become known for. In some ways, Tavolàta stands as the cornerstone of the Ethan Stowell Restaurant group, a beloved restaurant known for its great food, monthly Sunday Feasts, and convivial atmosphere. Tavolàta is named for its long communal table, a place where people can gather and grow closer over food and drink—which is what the Ethan Stowell Restaurants have come to revolve around: true hospitality that makes way for guests to come together over a meal and connect in an authentic way.

The new Tavolàta will be located at the corner of East Pike Street and Summit Avenue, in the newly renovated Dunn Automotive Building, which was constructed in 1925. The 2,600-square-foot restaurant has a modern, industrial feel, softened by the use of salvaged wood and generous windows that wrap around two sides of the space. A long communal table—the tavolàta that gives the restaurant its name—sits at the center of the restaurant. The 16-foot live-edge maple slab was sourced from near Lake Whatcom, north of Seattle, and it can be separated in to two eight-foot tables for smaller groups.

There are 12 seats at the bar, with an eight additional seats at a tall counter looking out over the dining room. Along the edges of the space, a combination of booths and banquettes provide seating for another 55 guests. An open kitchen with glossy gray tile complements rough, reclaimed California redwood behind the bar, and custom tables are topped with Douglas fir. Three large sliding windows run along the Pike side and will provide an open-air feeling during summer months. Plans are currently in the works for an outdoor patio on the Summit side with seating for 25 guests.

The menu will be similar to the original restaurant’s menu, with lots of extruded pastas and fresh vegetables plus a few hearty proteins. Tavolàta classics like the rigatoni with spicy sausage, tomato, marjoram, and Parmigiano–Reggiano and the spaghetti with anchovy, garlic, chili, and mint aren’t going anywhere, and will keep company with rotating seasonal vegetables like escarole with walnuts, Caciocavallo, and champagne vinaigrette; roasted beets with ricotta, grilled stone fruit, basil, and sherry vinegar; and corn on the cob with bottarga and jalapeno. The menu also includes small plates to start a meal, like Hamachi crudo with Parma ham, Calabrian chili, and orange, and bruschetta with house-made lardo and fava beans or chicken liver spread, hazelnuts, and cherries. There will also be a selection of hearty, simple mains like Prime flank steak with arugula, bagna cauda, and Parmigiano-Reggiano or a whole grilled fish with lemon and herbs.

Chef Addam Buzzalini, currently the chef at the Belltown location, will helm both kitchens, and the menus will be the similar at both locations.

The wine program will focus on Italy and the Pacific Northwest, and both local and imported beers will be available on tab and by the bottle. There will be a craft cocktail program with an emphasis on amaro, featuring cocktails like “Firenze Amore” with Bulleit Rye, Amaro Nonino and lavender bitters, “Calenda” with Aperol, Strega, citrus, and Prosecco, and the playful “Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli” with bourbon, Nocino, and chocolate bitters.

Anais Custer, currently of Mkt., Stowell’s 28-seat modern American restaurant, will run the front of the house.

The restaurant will be open daily from 5pm to 11pm. Playing off the wildly popular happy hour in Belltown, happy hour will be nightly in the bar from 5pm to 7pm. For more information, visit www.ethanstowellrestaurants.com or call Tavolàta on Capitol Hill at 206.420.8355.