Tisha Hannah is the owner of Ambiance Cuisine Cocktails & Catering in downtown Rockford. The restaurant will celebrate its grand opening on April 8, 2023, at 307 S. Main St. in Rockford. (Photo by Kevin Haas/Rock River Current)
By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — A new restaurant born out of a food truck and catering business is bringing modernized Creole soul cuisine to the city’s downtown.

Tisha Hannah has been working to open the new restaurant since last summer, and now she’s set an opening date for April 8. People will get their first taste of Ambiance Cuisine Cocktails & Catering, 307 S. Main St., during an appetizer and cocktail social event from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. that day. Then, when it opens in earnest on Wednesday, April 12, reservations will be required.

“We want to bring something different to the downtown Rockford area,” Hannah said. “We want this to be one of the go-to spots when you go downtown in Rockford.”

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Hannah’s Southern soul food recipes gained popularity at T & C’s Cooking Creations food truck at Rockford City Market, where she has brought the vibrant red truck since 2021. Hers is one of 14 businesses to open a brick-and-mortar location after testing the waters at the weekly outdoor market.

Customers crave the soul food cups and gourmet macaroni and cheese. Those will be available in the new restaurant, too, with an elegantly plated version of the soul food cup. There will also be catfish po’ boy, banana pudding, peach cobbler and other comfort and vegan food.

“I’m really, really excited with my cooking staff,” Hannah said. “Some of them are coming over from the food truck, so they’ve cooked with me for a couple of years now.”

Hannah has spent months renovating the space to prepare for its debut. It has a black-and-red color palette complete with a swirling black, gray and red epoxy floor that gleams like marble.

“I wanted the atmosphere to match the food,” she said.

 

The restaurant is walking distance from the BMO Center, UW Health Sports Factory, Embassy Suites by Hilton Rockford Riverfront Hotel, and next door to new Urban Equity Projects apartments and the new Wood & Brick Tavern.

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Hannah learned the craft from following her grandmother’s lead in the kitchen, and at age 11 she started developing her skills by cooking for her two sisters and brother.

“It just became something that I loved to do,” she said.

Hannah grew her business from her home, where she initially started working under a cottage food license. She was encouraged to turn her passion for cooking into a business by a friend roughly six years ago. Hannah decided she’d try it for one weekend at first, and her friend posted her menu on Facebook.

“I sold out the whole weekend,” she said. “Then everybody just came back to me every weekend.”

Fast facts | Ambiance

Grand opening: 1 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Saturday, April 8

Location: 307 S. Main St., Rockford

Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. to midnight Wednesday through Saturday; 12:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Sunday

Reservations: Reservations are necessary and a table can be reserved at opentable.com


This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas

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