You know you’re onto something special in the ever-challenging restaurant universe when you find that you have more customers than tables. That’s the dilemma Wild Garlic Grill owner Maudi Gourdin and her chef-husband Steven Schultz faced in August. There were lines to get into their 5-year-old hidden culinary gem at 2530 N. First Ave. — squeezed into an old drive-through burger joint — night-after-night.
The couple decided in August that they needed more elbow room in the dining room and wiggle room in the kitchen. They signed a lease last summer for the 3,700-square-foot space at 2870 E. Skyline Drive vacated in February by Shlomo & Vito’s New York Delicatessen & Pizza Kitchen and began a renovation project that stretched out through early fall. They continued serving their menu of French and California-inspired garlic-centric fare out of the First Avenue location until October, when they turned on the “Open” sign for the new digs.