Grigorian had initially followed her artistic sensibility to interior design. She worked in the field for about six years before admitting she didn’t love it. But she had felt passionate about food and cooking.
Danielle Grigorian, chef and owner of The Black Sheep, aims to take diners on a journey throughout the Mediterranean with her new fine dining restaurant at 644 N. Main St., Greenville.
Grigorian talked to her parents. Her mother, Peggy, wanted her to give it time, but her father, George, saw in his daughter a familiar spark. He pushed her to do what she loved.
“She is her father’s daughter,” said Peggy Grigorian, who moved to Greenville to be close to her daughter. “George was very ambitious, very concentrated on a goal, and he was relentless. He just went after something and he did it, and she’s like that in many ways.”
This set a new course for Grigorian.
She attended culinary school and moved to Greenville with an ex-partner. She found a job cooking on the line at Jianna and gradually moved her way up. She credits the restaurant for helping hone her culinary sensibility and voice. It was hard to leave, Grigorian said, but she knew she had to give her dream a try.
What’s on the menu?
The Black Sheep will focus on creating an elevated dining experience with an inviting atmosphere. The goal is fun, Grigorian said, and beyond the regional focus, the rules are few. Hence, the name of the restaurant.
“I don’t want to take too much away from the traditions of the country or the stories of the food, but I also want to be able to put my own stamp on it,” Grigorian said. “We are taking something traditional and modernizing it and twisting it a little bit.”
While the menu will focus on Mediterranean countries, she plans to infuse novelty with tradition. The chef is keeping mum about menu specifics for now, but said she is spending hours researching foods and culture of all the countries she will feature.
There are a few things she can share with certainty, however. There likely won’t be hummus on the menu, as the chef wants to focus on lesser-known dishes.