Nittolo's Little Italy Comes to Downtown TC

New location will offer an affordable Italian option

By Ellen Miller | April 19, 2025

Craving a pizza or a hearty bowl of pasta? You’re in luck: Nittolo’s Little Italy, from restaurateur Eric Nittolo, is slated to open downtown in the Warehouse District in this April, pending licensing and approvals.

The new spot was built out in the space where Cut & Run used to be, next to The Tasting Room on the ground floor of the Breakwater building. Nittolo, who runs the eponymous (and popular) Nittolo’s Seafood & Pizza in Lake Leelanau, wasn’t necessarily looking to expand, but “they came after me,” he jokes. “A diner of mine is a real estate agent out in Elk Rapids and was like, ‘these guys would love to have you in their space.’”

The Price Is Right

Nittolo’s Little Italy has a two-fold premise: to bring the taste of Italy to Traverse City, and to offer great value.

“As a diner myself and as someone who travels globally to go to dinner, I’ve found that what is happening in our town and other towns is that the costs are almost outweighing the quality,” Nittolo reflects.

Between higher labor costs and increased costs for ingredients, restaurants are struggling; he points to a recent MLive article about how many small restaurants in Grand Rapids are closing. Simultaneously, customers are looking for value—even, he says, customers who have big pocketbooks.

How can restaurants make the tough margins work? By getting a little creative, Nittolo says.

“We understand that diners and parents feel like everything has gone up, but they don’t want to lose the fact that they like to go out to eat. How do you create a value-driven item that’s delicious? Smaller portions.”

By offering a similar menu as the Nittolo’s location in Lake Leelanau but in smaller quantities, Nittolo’s Little Italy will be able to maintain high quality meals while charging customers less. “You’ll be able to go out for $40 and walk away full,” Nittolo promises.

Most importantly, the customer needs to feel valued, too.

“I don’t care if you’re 19 or 91; you want to walk in and know that you’re at Nittolo’s,” says Nittolo. “How you treat your guests matters. That’s super important with all this, we want everyone to think it’s great. The word is value. We want the customer to leave and say, ‘Man, that was great, and I don’t mind paying the bill; I’ll overtip the server.’ It’s important how you take care of your customers.”

The Menu Is Familiar

Nittolo’s Little Italy will offer Roman-style Italian food, similar to the Lake Leelanau mothership.

“This isn’t French refined style; it’s good home cooking Italian,” says Nittolo.

Appetizers include Heirloom Tomato Bruschetta ($9.99), with smoked tomato mostarda, balsamic, and burrata; the Truffle Fries ($9.99), complete with parmesan and truffle aioli; and the Prosciutto di Parma ($19.99), a meat and cheese board perfect for sharing. You’ll also find mussels, calamari, crab cakes, and shrimp scampi on the small plates side, all for under $10.

Two soups, two salads, garlic bread, and Grandma’s Rigatoni Pasta Pomodoro (customizable for kids, multiple guests or even a “festa”/feast for 10-12 folks) round out the first half of the menu.

Entrees run the range from pasta classics like Gnocchi, Tortellini, Risotto, and Carbonara to Lobster Fettuccine Alfredo, complete with jumbo shrimp, lobster claw meat, and tomato basil fettuccine. Pescatarians will opt for the Frutti di Mare or the Alaskan Halibut, while carnivores can choose from Filet Mignon and Lobster and chicken three ways (Chicken Parmesan, Chicken Piccata, and Chicken Marsala).

And then, of course, there are the famous Nittolo’s pizzas, 14 of them, plus cheese bread. Pizzas range from $15.99 for a Classic Cheese to $19.99 (think: Margherita, Smoked Brisket BBQ, Jersey White) to $25.99 for specialities like the Forest Morel (garlic butter, morel blend, truffle oil, raclette, asparagus, and cippolinis) or Torta di Nitollo (bufala mozzarella, cherry bomb tomatoes, prosciutto, arugula, and pomodorino).

The restaurant sources many of its ingredients from in-state suppliers, like Mama Mucci’s Pasta in Canton. “We want to support as much Michigan as we can; in the middle of summer we’ll do a lot of fun market stuff, be there bright and early,” says Nittolo.

The Scene Is New

In total, the NYC-decor themed restaurant will have 90 seats: 66 seats inside and 24 outside. Nittolo expects that the restaurant will operate primarily on reservations, though eight bar stools will be kept as first come, first served.

Happy hour—a big deal for the restaurant—will happen daily from 3-5 pm, when the food will be even more discounted; several pizzas will be half off and there will be drink and appetizer specials. Additionally, there will be a special “happy meal,” pasta felici, menu during happy hour. Takeout orders are eligible for happy hour pricing, and residents in the Breakwater building will receive happy hour pricing all day.

At the end of the day, Nittolo wants anyone to feel at home at his restaurant. “Two 16-year-olds going out on a date can afford it. That’s where I open the customer base, not just to wealthy kids. Anybody can go, even if you’re struggling and want to go out to eat, you can afford it. I’ve had meals where I look at the bill and think, I could have bought two pairs of Gucci shoes for that! People are now starting to look at that and evaluate some of that stuff.”

He adds that affordable pricing means that customers can go out for a drink after their meal, or go out to dinner more often.

“On the menu right now at our Lake Leelanau location, it says, ‘Love and pizza unite the world,’” Nittolo says. “The new one will be ‘Love and pizza for the people.’”

Find Nittolo’s Little Italy at 155 Garland St #101 in Traverse City. nittolostc.com