Coming out of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Dave Murray was supposed to be taking a break from the restaurant business.
The workhorse chef had just stepped away from Denim, the modern American concept he brought to Haddonfield from Cherry Hill, as well as Cluckwerks, the hot chicken sandwich he’d operated as a ghost kitchen inside Denim to offset seating restrictions during the pandemic.
Instead, Murray opted for a six-month sabbatical during which he refined his hand at baking, and emerged with the makings of Crumb Sandwich Joint, which he opened with Walter Gouldsbury in downtown Haddonfield in October 2021.
Inside of three years, Crumb spawned two additional locations, in Medford and Bordentown, plus a burgers-and-cheesesteaks spinoff concept, Gouldsburgers, which opened in Haddonfield last March.
Gouldsburgers pushed into Philadelphia this summer; it’s poised to add a second Philly location and a third in Medford, both by year’s end. Meanwhile, amidst that growth, Murray and Gouldsbury have labored for the past eight months to open their third Haddonfield eatery, Umile Trattoria.
The name “umile” (pronounced: OO-me-lay) means “humble” in Italian, and Murray and Gouldsbury describe it as “a labor of love” intended to deliver a fine dining experience in an unpretentious fashion.
“The amount of detail that’s gone into this is insane,” Murray said. “I’ve never put my heart and soul into a place more than this.”
“This is a passion project,” Gouldsbury said. “This style of cooking, the overarching flavor concept and style that we’re going for, this checks all the boxes.”
While the dining room at Umile is anchored by a huge picture window with views of Kings Highway and the downtown Haddonfield street life, its open kitchen turns around a Moretti Forni pizza deck and Executive Chef Ricky Coppick, who is a partner in the business.
Coppick, who joined the Umile team from Pizzeria Vetri, where he was also an executive chef, shares Murray’s and Gouldsbury’s passion for pizza. The trio worked to develop a dough recipe that would hold firm at its base with a chewy crust. They believe it provides a complement to any of the other available varieties of pizza in the area.
Murray described it as “a New York-style, crisp pizza with a Neopolitan-style cornichone.
“It travels far better than a Neopolitan pie, but still has structural integrity and crispness,” he said.
At Umile, that structural integrity must support a variety of ingredients. The prosciutto di parma pizza is built around a burrata base, and topped with lemon vinaigrette arugula, fig vincotto, parmesan cheese, and lemon zest.
“No flop,” Murray said, displaying a piece that let out a thin crack when folded in half, even as the crust remained soft and chewy.
The prosciutto pizza is Coppick’s favorite on the menu; reminiscent of a whipped ricotta appetizer he used to run as the Executive Chef at Zavino in Philadelphia, but with a new twist.
“You’ve got to get a perfect cook on that because there’s nothing on it besides the parm and the olive oil when you start,” Coppick said. “The lemon zest adds a nice finish.”
The rest of the menu is similarly constructed, designed to be approachable with fresh, seasonal ingredients, executed with care and an eye for detail.
It offers items for every kind of diet, from vegan and vegetarian-friendly options to dishes for pescatarians and omnivores.
Some items play on customers’ familiarity with the chefs’ prior concepts.
The black truffle rotolo, for example, takes its inspiration from the Crumb cinnamon buns, but with a savory twist of truffle butter and seasoned mascarpone.
The Italian Market sandwich wouldn’t be out of place at Crumb either, save for its construction on Tuscan pane instead of the signature Crumb focaccia.
Similarly, Gouldsbury said, diners won’t find the chicken cutlet sandwich at Umile that they might at Crumb, but chicken saltimbocca with sautéed spinach, sage, and melted fontina will serve a similar palate.
“We’re trying to differentiate ourselves and bring the same high quality,” Gouldsbury said. “We’re doing things a little differently, as we usually do, and trying to bring an experience to the people.”
Facilitating those detailed preparations is Sous Chef Allen Lattany, who oversees the house-made pasta dishes and appetizers. Items like the blue crab suppli with spinach and fontina stuffing, or roasted bone marrow with agrodolce onions are left to his careful hand.
Lattany, who was most recently the culinary director at Mei Mei in Philadelphia, brought his expertise with pan-Asian noodles to the pasta menu at Umile.
“We were like-minded,” Murray said; “we shared the same philosophy of trying to do everything the right way without cutting corners, and [Allen] has had a lot of input on this opening menu.”
Coppick, who described himself as “a gastropub chef,” praised Lattany as a technician whose creativity and insight will be tapped as the menu turns through different phases.
In keeping with the concept of the restaurant, both chefs were self-effacing about their own contributions to the kitchen.
“I am 100-percent invested in making sure Chef Ricky is an absolute success,” Lattany said. “That’s what I want to focus on. I’m looking forward to the fresh pasta aspect of the game and moving into other seasons, buying locally, and producing seasonal menus.”
Those pasta dishes include airy, delicate chicken confit agnolotti, black pepper butternut squash bucatini, and paccheri with Calabrian chili flakes, charred pepperoni shreds, and vodka sauce based upon alcohol distilled across the street at Wildfether.
Gouldsbury’s touch as a pastry chef is also on display in the house-made dessert menu, which features pumpkin tiramisu, ricotta cheesecake with candied clementines and gingerbread crumbles, and gelato that wouldn’t be out of place on The Custard Cart, his farmers market pop-up.
“I feel like there’s something on the menu for everyone,” Murray said. “We tried not to overcomplicate things. We want to earn the confidence of our patrons, at which point, we can start to push the boundaries a little bit more.”
For Coppick, who relocated to Haddonfield with his partner, Sydney Berry, to seize the opportunity of opening up a location with Murray and Gouldsbury, expectations are “sky-high.”
Coppick described opening a restaurant as “a dream that was short-lived” as a younger chef, especially once he learned the failure rates of many restaurateurs.
When he described the opportunity to Berry, for whom the move would mean a much longer commute and uprooting their lives, “she didn’t think twice about it,” Coppick said.
“She’s tried to help every way she can; created the sign, helped with marketing,” he said. “I’m all in.”
Coppick also has a bit of a cushion at launch, with experienced partners who support not only his vision for the space, and the labor that went into creating it, but are also supporting it with qualified staff and a track record of successes.
“This is a passion project,” Murray said. “We’re doing this for ourselves.”
Umile Trattoria is located at 211 Kings Highway East in downtown Haddonfield. The restaurant will serve lunch and dinner from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday. Visit its social media page for more information.
Disclosure: At the time of publication, the author is parent to a Gouldsburger’s employee.
