A downtown Dawsonville restaurant plans to open a second place one block from its current location.

Old Towne Pizza will open a bistro-style cafe across from the old courthouse in the space formerly used by Julias Deli.

Owner Chris Ridley said the menu at his soon-to-be-named new location will be different from the pizza restaurant.

Its going to be the kind of place where you can take your mom out for a nice dinner and a glass of wine after work, he said. We will be open for lunch and dinner and serve beer and wine.

Ridley plans to keep the deli traditions of Julias by offering soups and sandwiches during the lunch hour. He likely will add hamburgers to the menu as well, he said.

At night, we will have entrees such as steaks, fish, shrimp and pasta, and beer and wine, he said. We are very excited. We will have a bar and TV, but thats not our main focus.

Old Towne Pizza is not allowed to serve alcohol because of its close proximity to a church. The new location does not have that restriction.

The idea for a second restaurant came from Tommy McKee, who contacted Ridley shortly after deciding he would close Julias Deli.

When I first went over there, I thought I have a spot already, and I have a lease, but then it dawned on me one morning that I didnt have to put the same restaurant over there, Ridley said.

Ridley has been in the restaurant business 10 years and enjoys cooking, he said.

My talents really shine through in my food. Im not boastful, but I know when I have something good. Pizza is my main area of expertise, but what this new location does is open all avenues of cooking for me.

Readers of the Dawson News & Advertiser recently voted Old Towne Pizza as the best pizza in Dawson County and as having the most fun atmosphere at a restaurant.

Ridleys wife, Lindsay Ridley, creates desserts from scratch for Old Town Pizza, and will be doing the same for the new restaurant.

The target opening date for the new restaurant is January or February 2013, according to Ridley.