M’tucci’s founders branch into the home building business.

Italian food isn’t on the menu for Mitucci Restaurants founders Jeff Spiegel and Katie Gardner.

The two are going in a different direction with their latest business venture, building sustainable home developments under the name Spiegel-Kinsley Construction with brother-in-law Evan Kinsley. Spiegel is a founding partner of the new firm, and Kinsley is serving as general contractor, president and partner, according to a company news release.

The newly formed company has listed one of its launch properties on the market for $1.1 million, and 11 others are under construction in a Las Placitas development, according to a company spokesperson.

“At Mtuchi restaurants, we make as much of our ingredients in-house as possible and are intentional about how we source the rest of our ingredients,” Spiegel said in a statement. “We’re bringing that same philosophy to home construction. They set a new standard for what our homes should be – beautiful, durable and sustainable.

Each home in the company’s first development ranges from 2,700 to 3,000 square feet with up to 1,500 square feet of covered outdoor space.

According to a news release sent last Friday, Spiegel-Kinsley Construction’s focus is on net zero homes – homes that produce more energy than they use – built with sustainable building materials, energy recovery ventilators, electric car charging stations, xeriscape native to the environment and low input landscapes.

More information is available at www.spiegel-kinsley.com.