Chef-Owner

Billy Grant

Chef-Owner, Restaurant Bricco

Discipline: Chef-Owner
Venue: Bricco Trattoria · Restaurant

Portrait of Billy Grant

i. Biography

Billy Grant’s defining title is Executive Chef at Reef Kitchens, but the through line in his career has remained more elemental: scratch cooking techniques, and the kind of kitchens where discipline, pace, and generosity have to work in concert. He is also chef-owner of Restaurant Bricco in West Hartford, a role he has held since 1996, and his name is tied to a style of cooking that is rooted, steady, and deliberately hands-on.

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The Climb

The foundation of Billy Grant’s career was laid in a family restaurant at Augie & Ray’s, where repetition, observation, and the daily demands of service set the terms of the work. Scratch cooking techniques came into sharper focus at The Eatery in East Windsor before he moved on as Sous Chef at Max on Main, a progression that marked his rise from early kitchen experience into greater responsibility. From there, Grant built a portfolio that reflects both ambition and range. Today, he is chef-owner of Restaurant Bricco (since 1996), owner of Grants Restaurant & Bar (since 2000), and owner of Bricco Trattoria (since 2010). Taken together, those roles mark decades spent shaping operations, menus, and standards with an insistence on doing things the hard way when the hard way is also the right way.

Today

Restaurant Bricco in West Hartford remains central to Billy Grant’s work as chef-owner. His executive-chef role at Reef Kitchens sits alongside that restaurant post, adding another dimension to a career defined by continuity, stamina, and a working knowledge of the pressures and possibilities of the kitchen.

Career - Chef-owner — Restaurant Bricco, West Hartford (1996–present) - Owner — Grants Restaurant & Bar, West Hartford (2000–present) - Owner — Bricco Trattoria, Glastonbury (2010–present) - Working in family restaurant — Augie & Ray’s - Learning scratch cooking techniques — The Eatery, East Windsor - Sous Chef — Max on Main

Signature

Billy Grant is known for Italian-American fare and scratch cooking techniques. That combination points to food with a familiar center of gravity, built with the quiet rigor of a kitchen that makes as much as possible from the ground up. His signature is less about flash than consistency, craft, and the confidence that comes from doing the fundamentals well, day after day.

In Their Words “First, my brothers really make it easy for me to be able to run the restaurants and donate my time to our various charities.” “I couldn’t do it without them. And then I have simply the best people.”

Recognition

Billy Grant gives direct credit to the people around him, and the gratitude in his words is as plain as any title on a business card. “First, my brothers really make it easy for me to be able to run the restaurants and donate my time to our various charities,” he says, placing family support at the center of an operation that extends beyond the dining room. He adds, “I couldn’t do it without them. And then I have simply the best people.”

FAQ What is Billy Grant's current role? Billy Grant is Executive Chef. Where did Billy Grant work before? Billy Grant's earlier career included Augie & Ray’s, The Eatery, and Max on Main. What is Billy Grant known for? Scratch cooking techniques.