Patrick Colombo, owner and CEO of hospitality group Restaurant Works, plans to open an upscale-casual Italian restaurant in Dallas later this year.
Known as Centralé Italia, the new concept from the veteran restaurateur is set to open in early fall in Preston Hollow Village at 7859 Walnut Hill Lane #150. The forthcoming establishment will take over two adjacent storefronts previously occupied by Thai restaurant Pakpao and Frost Gelato.
Patrons can indulge in wood-fired, Neapolitan-style pizza, pastas, and fresh gelato made on site.
Colombo is no stranger to Italian dining. His hospitality group already runs two Princi Italia locations in Dallas and Plano, focused on scratch-made Italian fare. The new eatery will focus more on pizza and pasta, which Colombo believes is the right concept for the family-friendly North Dallas neighborhood.
Centralé’s signature dish will be a so-called Neo-Neapolitan pizza. Colombo describes it as the merging of New York artisan pizza with Neapolitan. Expect a puffy exterior crust, with a flatter middle.
Colombo hopes the new concept can appeal to Dallasites who are not fans of floppier-style pies.
“Ordinarily, with this kind of pizza, if you try to hold the piece up, the front is going to flop down and the cheese can slip off… We’re going to try to achieve that Neapolitan crust but with a stiff base,” said Colombo, per CultureMap Dallas.
The pizza dough will be fermented using a “biga,” an Italian-style starter that helps the dough rise and enhances the flavor, not unlike a sourdough. Centralé will also use a Marra Forni pizza oven, which leverages gas, wood, and coal heating.
“We’re going to be one of the first in the city to use a wood-fired pizza oven and gas and our deck will rotate,” Colombo said.
One of the best parts about the new pie spot is that customers will be able to marvel at the pizza-making process in the kitchen while they dine. Centralé will also feature an extensive wine program from Italy to accompany the pizza.
“I’m a consumer like everybody, and you want to go to a place where the hospitality is good and the value is good,” said Colombo.