Michael Semancik Is IN as Executive Chef at Scout

Scout, set to open later this year in Decatur's Oakhurst neighborhood, has an executive chef on board. Michael Semancik is in the run the kitchen and serve as a partner in the business, according to a press release. Semancik moves to Scout from the Georgian Terrace hotel's Livingston Restaurant + Bar, where his departure was announced last month.

At Scout, it sounds like Semancik will steer the menu in a modern Southern direction, but he's made it clear he doesn't want to serve "overdone comfort food." Instead, he'll turn "a keen eye toward responsibly sourced ingredients and a studied form of cooking."

"I'll be working with local purveyors with whom I have longstanding relationships, like Bobby Britt of Besmaid Garden right here in Decatur," Semancik said in a prepared statement. "We will seek out the best ingredients in the region and turn them into food people want to eat. Our goal is to create a really great neighborhood restaurant experience."

Before his time at Livingston, where he worked with Scout operating partner Chris Martha as director of the food and beverage program of the Georgian Terrace, Semancik was executive chef at Savannah's The Mansion on Forsyth Park from 2009 to 2013. Semancik and Martha first teamed up more than two decades ago at South City Kitchen.

Scout is taking over the former McGowan's Oakhurst Pub space at 321 West Hill St. in Decatur. It should open toward the end of 2016.