When local brewery Six Mile Bridge Beer announced in August that Ben Welch (formerly of Big Baby Q and Smokehouse and The Midwestern) would be taking over as executive chef, it was a surprise to many. It turns out that that was only the beginning. Shortly after, it was announced that Six Mile Bridge’s owners would be opening a new restaurant, Botanica, in Wildwood and that Welch would be running the kitchen.

When Botanica opens this Saturday, Oct. 2, it will represent the merging of two powerful local forces.  “We’d been looking for two years, and we started to talk to Ben,'' said Six Mile Bridge owner Ryan Sherring. “He came up with the menu and the food side. We were wanting a space for people to be together.” He added that Wildwood ultimately felt like the right place for the new concept, which bridges Italian and Southern food.