Former Hinterland Brewery chef opens restaurant in De Pere | Streetwise

DE PERE − Kelly Qualley always thought he would one day own a restaurant. A little over a month ago, he accomplished that dream with the help of his family and friends.

Orsetta Craft Kitchen & Bar opened in early March at 109 N. Broadway, in De Pere. Qualley said after 21 years working as a head chef at Hinterland Brewery everything lined up for him to open his own place.

"I think the time chose me," he said. "I always wanted to do something in downtown De Pere."

Qualley, a De Pere native, leased the former Bilotti's Pizza Garden space in October and remodeled it to create a modern look that still maintains the classic appearance of the building. His family helped with painting, construction and decoration.

"We had a whole group effort to make this place looking the way we wanted to look and feel the way we wanted it to feel," he said.

The menu leans into Italian-style foods, with fresh, house-made pasta and sourdough, Sicilian-style pan pizzas or thin-crust pizzas. There are also soup and seafood options, with Alaskan halibut and seared scallops. Some meat options include seared duck breast, chicken parmesan and prime beef striploin.

He said additional menu items will be added with the seasons, for example, he plans to serve king salmon in the spring.

"So that we can keep it fresh and interesting," Qualley said.

One unique feature in the Orsetta kitchen, Qualley said, is he uses electric stoves instead of gas for the pasta and entrée stations.

"It's better, more sustainable," he said. "Kind of nice to work as a chef because you don't have flames everywhere."

Qualley employs roughly 25 people in full and part-time positions.

During football season he plans to offer an online pizza service for pickup so people in the area can have another food option durring the games.

Qualley is incredibly thankful for the support and honest reviews posted online.

"It's been a reciprocal gratitude," Qualley said. "Customers say thank you for opening this and we say thank you for coming and supporting us."

The restaurant is open 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday and Mondays only for private events.

For more information visit orsettadepere.com, or its Facebook and Instagram pages.

Ariel Perez is a business reporter for the Green Bay Press-Gazette. You can reach him at APerez1@gannett.com or view his Twitter profile at @Ariel_Perez85

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Orsetta Craft Kitchen & Bar was a dream come true for this De Pere chef