A Jones County family has banded together to open a new Italian restaurant in downtown Gray. Here’s what’s on the menu.
GRAY, Ga. — A brand new Italian restaurant has opened up in downtown Gray, and it’s got local roots.
A Central Georgia family opened up Giganti on Main, a restaurant focused on authentic Italian cuisine.
Located on 124 West Clinton Street, the restaurant is run by a group of siblings from Jones County, including one serving as the chef.
“We are a group of siblings that are working together to make this happen,” Ashley Robertson said. “One of our brothers is the chef, and he has worked in Italian (cuisine) before. He has a lot of restaurant experience in different places, and he decided that it was time to open something of his own.”
Robertson, who said her brother, Keith Dupree, was the chef in charge of handling the menu of the restaurant. She said that he planned on creating some Italian dishes for the menu, but as he crafted the menu, he elected to make it all Italian.
The restaurant’s name itself is a reference to their family. Robertson said giganti, which is giant in Italian, represents her family, who she said are tall and “large men.”
She said that working with her family has been fun, and that thanks to her and Dupree’s restaurant experience, it’s been smooth sailing so far.
“It’s been great, we’ve all working together,” Robertson said. “Keith and I, we have worked together in restaurants before, so we got that passed, so it’s just bringing in other siblings. We have two other brothers that are helping as well, along with our dad, so just kind of making it a family affair.”
Robertson said that, as Gray locals, they were ecstatic to open up in Jones County. She’s also said worked with several of the businesses downtown in the past, and has loved the community support since they opened.
“The community has been great,” she said. “I’ve worked with a lot of the businesses downtown, and they’ve been super supportive. We love being a part of this community and working together with other business owners.”
The menu itself has six different entrees to choose from. They have classics like lasagna and eggplant parmesan.
They also have chicken based dished like chicken parmesan and chicken marsala, the latter is two pan-seared chicken breasts cooked with mushrooms in marsala wine and finished with butter and fresh herbs. They also have some seafood dishes, including a salmon pesto dish and a parmesan herb-crusted salmon.
If craving other types of pasta, Giganti on Main offers customizable pasta dishes with five different types of noodles and seven different sauces.
“Nothing comes from a can. It’s all fresh,” Robertson said. “So really, any of the sauces that to try are great.”
She highlighted their pomodoro sauce, a traditional marinara sauce made with fresh basil, olive oil, garlic and onions, which is blended to be smooth. They also offer cream sauces, like their alfredo, a pesto alfredo and a mushroom cream.
They have other red sauces, including an alla vodka sauce and a bolognese, which is a meat sauce. Their alla caprese sauce is a white wine-based sauce, which is a lighter flavor. For pasta, they offer traditional spaghetti, fettuccine and penne, alongside whole wheat penne and gluten-free penne.
Robertson also highlighted their hoagies, various sandwiches served on a fresh hoagie roll and shoestring fries. They offer a wide array of classics like meatballs and chicken parm. Like any classic Italian restaurant, they offer pizzas, which they serve on flatbread.
They have several starters, including their Giganti fries, which is a large order of their fries tossed in garlic, chives and parmesan cheese.
They also have various salads for those looking for a few veggies in their diet. For those looking to keep it simple, they also have butter noodles, which is feature prominently on their kids’ menu.
With so many options to choose from, Robertson said she hopes people come by to try her and her siblings’ hard work.
“We hope that you guys will come out and try our Italian restaurant,” she said. “We hope that you enjoy it and give us all the feedback. We want to be the place that you can come and get good food, good service and become a staple in the community.”
Dining and Cooking