Restaurant in New Albany, Indiana, offers new concept
Walking into The Fair in downtown New Albany, you’ll feel like you walked right into a scene from “The Great Gatsby.” More impressively, you’ll leave filled with outstanding food, excellent service and a unique experience.
The Fair opened in August and has been picking up speed since. Max Segoviano, managing partner and operations manager, led the opening of the restaurant through Viva Hospitality Group.
The group also owns La Catrina Mexican Kitchen and Sleepy Rooster Morning Kitchen, among others.
“The hardest thing is, it’s a new concept,” Segoviano said. “Anytime you’re doing a different concept you haven’t done before, there’s obviously certain challenges, and you have to kind of reinvent the wheel to better cater to whatever your clientele is for that concept.”
The group first became active in downtown New Albany with the opening of La Catrina in 2019.
“We really loved it; the community and everything here is great. People really love to support local businesses, and it shows just in how many local businesses there are.”
– Max Segoviano
“We really loved it; the community and everything here is great,” Segoviano said. “People really love to support local businesses, and it shows just in how many local businesses there are.”
Segoviano, who worked with his mother, Roza Segoviano, and brother, Leo Segoviano, on this restaurant, said they usually work backward. The entire group is family-owned and operated, and because of that, they are constantly bouncing ideas off of one another.
“Then when we find a spot we like, we kind of go through the ideas we have or maybe come up with a better one just to see what we think would best suit the space,” Segoviano said.
He said his mom, their executive chef, has wanted to do something American-style and a little more elevated for the brand for a long time but had yet to find the right spot. For his mom and his brother, chef de cuisine, Segoviano said he feels this has been a dream come true.
“It gives us a lot more freedom on what we can and can’t do with our food,” he said. “In a personal way, it shows that we can do a lot more than what we’ve done before.”
Viva Hospitality Group, founded by Segoviano’s dad, Juan, has been around for years but never necessarily advertised. Then, in 2021, they decided to bring everything together so that guests from all of the restaurants know they’re owned and operated by the same people — like the family they are.
“I’ve had people come into The Fair and they remember me from when I was 12 or 13 cleaning tables at Señor Iguanas,” Max said. “I feel like everything’s been a natural progression and we’re really pushing the family aspect of it because that’s what we are.”
Segoviano’s role in the group is to manage day-to-day operations and employees at The Fair. He also runs the beverage program and is the in-house sommelier. For the group as a whole, he also assists with administrative work, mostly keeping up with licenses and permits.
One of his favorite parts has been the cocktail program and experimenting with the wine list.
“Getting more engrained in the community has also been really nice. Everybody in New Albany knows everybody. It’s nice to feel that overwhelming support.”
– Max Segoviano
“Getting more engrained in the community has also been really nice,” he said. “Everybody in New Albany knows everybody. It’s nice to feel that overwhelming support.”
One event he’s excited about is the prix fixe wine dinners they have started offering. The first one took place in November, and Segoviano said he is hoping they become a monthly event.
“It was a five course prix fixe menu, ticketed event, with five different French wine pairings because it was a French-themed dinner,” Segoviano said.
Chefs come out to explain dishes, and he and his two other sommeliers on staff participate in the tasting as well.
Aside from the wine, Segoviano said his go-to on the menu would be the pork chop, saying it is “phenomenal.” But he said everyone should be able to find something they love.
“We have a ton of different kinds of food, a ton of different influences — French, Italian, Spanish — there’s no way you can’t find something that will fit your needs, and if you really can’t, we’ll work with you and make something,” he said. “That’s our goal — to make sure that you’re happy and taken care of.”
Segoviano said he wants to create an experience where you leave almost “glossy-eyed” from things running smoothly, feeling comfortable, and being able to sit for hours and chat.
“Whether it’s you wanting to take your wife out for your anniversary, or your brother out for his birthday, or a nice date, or even a business meal,” he said. “Whether you want to impress or you just want to have a really nice evening.”
Overall, Segoviano reiterates how grateful he is to get to do this with the people he loves.
“We feel really lucky to be able to partake in this with our family,” he said. “We support each other’s ideas and decisions, and it’s really cool to be able to do that.” •
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Story by Darian Decker
Photos by Michelle Hockman
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