The Making of The Fat Ham, Part 4: Construction underway

Kevin Sbraga of Sbraga restaurant on South Broad Street is planning his second restaurant, The Fat Ham, at 3131 Walnut St. in The Left Bank in University City.

In Part I, he let us in on a design meeting for the space, which he hopes to open in November.

In Part 2, the rubber hits the road as he and his associates went on a road trip to explore Southern cusine.

In Part 3, Sbraga and company meet the press.

In Part 4, construction starts on the space.

"You should see all the sawdust they got out of there," said restaurant general manager Ben Fileccia.

The Fat Ham is lined with wood, and the carpenters are sanding like mad. Meanwhile, Sbraga says he has approval of the liquor license. The 10-foot exhaust hood - which Sbraga bought several years ago for a song - is being rehabbed. Kitchen equipment is on order.

With work at the new restaurant out of his hands, Sbraga last week flew to Peoria, Ill., to cook dinner at the home of the winner of a charity auction. He followed it up with a visit, with his dad, Harvey, to his grandmom's house in Dayton, Ohio.

Next up: The rigors of recipe testing.

And below, a video recap of The Fat Ham-mers' eatin' trip through the South, set to the peppy strains of "Hey, Doreen" by Lucius.