The couple behind Aviary and Lavender Falls Farm opens new Italian restaurant

Catherine and Thor Bersted didn’t have a background in the restaurant industry when they dipped their toe into it, but they have fallen in love with hospitality.

“I love the absolute chaos. The creativity. The staff,” said Catherine.

The two own Lavender Falls Farm and are partners at Aviary by Lavender Falls Cafe. On Thursday, Aug. 31, they opened their newest venture: Amici, an Italian restaurant in the former Tasia location on South Campbell.

Five-course menu will change weekly

The venue features a five-course meal for $60 and the menu will change weekly. Customers are presented with a menu with at least two options per course and they select one from each course.

Standout dishes this week include Tuscan Salmon, a pan-seared salmon filet smothered in a creamy Tuscan sauce on a bed of asparagus, spinach and sundried tomatoes. The moist carrot cake is delectable. You can also opt for the cannoli bowl. This deconstructed dish is rich, served in a chocolate-rimmed pastry bowl, filled with chocolate chip ricotta, mascarpone and cream cheese.

Interior designed to have ‘al fresco’ feel

There are good Italian restaurants in Springfield, but not on this side of town, said Catherine. Aside from what she calls a “coursing” menu, the ambiance is different at Amici, too. Catherine wanted to create an “al fresco” feel inside. Moss and ferns hang above tables, some dangling from wood panels built by Catherine that give off a pergola vibe. Parts of the windows are covered in moss — the restaurant faces the sun so it’s also a snazzy way to block out light. Catherine designed the interior, painted the walls and hand-built many features.

They started renovations on July 6 and have worked “round the clock ever since,” said Thor. 

“We only took off one day, August 10. We’ve been going crazy,” he said.

The walls are blue slate, the ceiling silver-gray tile panels. Wicker, earth tones and rustic gold accents are scattered throughout the interior.

Catherine repurposed as many items as possible from Tasia and her other businesses.

The white linen napkins with a blue stripe were repurposed from the Aviary; some of the baskets on the wall are from the farm. Cutting boards from her home act as wall art hanging on a rod.

She scored cutlery and glasses from flea markets. Church pews reclaimed from a church in Wichita line the wall for seating. Thor found those on Facebook marketplace.

The couple said they want this to feel a little bit like grandma’s house: eclectic, comfortable and special.

A Google search of cash crops led to Lavender Falls Farm

The Bersteds had no restaurant experience when they originally entered the industry. He was a commercial pilot who got laid off during the 2008 recession when there was a downturn in the industry. They met at the Springfield-Branson National Airport, where she worked at the time. He decided to join the Springfield police force and was injured in a training accident in 2013.

After surgery, while he was on heavy painkillers, he Googled cash crops and found lavender. With no experience in farming, he ordered hundreds of plants. The couple owns a parcel of land in Clever and transformed it into a thriving agritourism destination.

In late spring and early summer, they opened their picturesque farm to the public and served charcuterie boards, light fare and cocktails. Thousands flocked to their land and it became an Instagram favorite.

The following year, they upped their game and started serving full meals. The farm was always booked for the roughly two months it was open.

Owning Aviary during pandemic solidified love of hospitality industry

Then, they partnered with the Aviary and became the Aviary by Lavender Falls.

Owning a restaurant during the pandemic solidified Catherine’s love of the industry. When Aviary first reopened with social distancing between tables, she remembers watching customers.

“They would take off their masks and eat and laugh and forget that the world was on fire,” she said. “We were a part of that, we got to feed them.”

Bersteds had ‘come to Jesus moment’ before opening Amici

Thor said last fall they sat down and had a long talk about their future, as this wasn’t their original plan.

“It was a come to Jesus moment,” he said. “Were we going to stay in the industry or do something else? If we stayed, we wanted to expand.”

In March, Tasia announced it was closing and the “location was perfect,” Thor said. They both love Italian food, so it seemed a natural fit. They hired Chris Smith to be their executive chef. He’s worked at the Aviary and restaurants such as Char.

They are sourcing from local farmers and focusing on small batches, all the way down to their bar menu. All the house wines are boutique Italian and not something you will find in the grocery store or other local restaurants, Catherine said. The liquors are small batch too.

Customers are meant to linger over their meals, as they would in Italy. Catherine is one of six children, so she jokes and says she knows how to eat fast but Amici was created for people to connect with each other and their food.

There’s also handmade pasta, and when you enter the restaurant you can see it being made through an open space.

Lounge menu coming soon

In a few weeks, she wants to add a lounge menu so people can pop in for a drink, bruschetta or charcuterie.

Amici means “friends” in Italian, and they want this to be a place where friends gather.

“No one has a better time with you than your friends,” Catherine said.

Juliana Goodwin

Juliana Goodwin is a freelance journalist with experience covering business, travel and tourism, health, food and history. She is a former Food and Travel Columnist for the Springfield News-Leader, a former business reporter for The Joplin Globe, and has written for USA Today and Arkansas Living Magazine, among others. More by Juliana Goodwin