Carly Harrington: Italian eatery to open in the Old City

Duane Carleo continues to show his love for the Old City.

The nightclub and restaurant operator is expanding his footprint in the historic downtown district with another venue that's expected to open next week.

Lil' Vinnie's Italian Restaurant is opening in the original spot where the popular Pasta Trio was located until it closed in 2009.

Carleo, a 32-year-old New Jersey native who moved to East Tennessee 12 years ago, said a cozy, little Italian restaurant was a good niche that was lacking in the area.

Located beside Crown and Goose at 119 S. Central St., Lil' Vinnie's will feature a simple menu. Its signature dish will be a 5 ounce meatball (a Carleo family recipe) served with a side of ricotta.

Other items will include a build your own pasta, a specialty lasagna, chicken Parmesan and an antipasto skewer that includes artichokes, mozzarella, ham/salami and tomatoes drizzled with balsamic vinegar. It will also serve fresh baked bread from sister eatery, DaVinci's Pizzeria and Calzones. There will be a wine bar but no beer or liquor.

The Italian restaurant comes just four months after Carleo opened Ebi Sushi and Sake and the adjacent NV Nightclub, located across from Barley's.

DaVinci's aside, Ebi, a sushi and hibachi restaurant, was Carleo's first foray into the world of dining.

The nightclubs are a good business but customers don't start arriving until after 11 p.m. Restaurants, he said, would help draw them to the Old City earlier.

Never one to shy away from a challenge, Carleo admitted, "It's a different ballgame with restaurants."

With nightclubs, it's all about marketing and advertising to get people in the door. He quickly learned that with restaurants, it's all about customer service.

"I didn't realize that training needed to be so intense. If you don't train and a customer has a bad experience, that's it," he said.

In addition to DaVinci's, Lil Vinnie's, Ebi Sushi and NV Nightclub, Carleo Entertainment Management owns Southbound and Carleo's Lounge and Nightclub.

"Each one has opened up the opportunity for the next one," Carleo said.

As a property comes along, Carleo and his team aren't afraid to get their hands on it and figure out what to do with it later.

"That's the case with another Old City property Carleo recently scooped up, which used to house Big Don's Elegant Junk. Expect something food related to open there this fall."

For more information on Carleo's venues, visit http://www.carleoentertainment.com.