Chef Giovanni Novella, known for his 6-year-old east side Italian restaurant Bar Corallini, is opening a new restaurant on the west side this fall.
Set to open in the Quarry Shoppes & Apartments building at 2903 University Ave. — a space previously occupied by the pizzeria Novanta — Osteria Novella will be an independent restaurant, separate from Food Fight Restaurant Group. Novella has worked with Food Fight for 10 years.
“This is the best case scenario for me to move to my next adventure,” Novella said.
Novella started as the executive chef at Cento about 10 years ago, then led Fresco at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art before opening Bar Corallini in 2019.
“I’m going to retain ownership,” Novella said of Corallini. “I put so much sweat and tears into that restaurant. I need to make sure the vision is still there.”
Novella owns Osteria Novella with Evan Ackers, who will manage the front of house. Ackers came to Bar Corallini from the now-closed Avenue Club and Bubble Up Bar (Food Fight’s 2015 rebranding of the Avenue Bar), starting as a bartender and working his way to general manager. Ackers briefly managed Il Cervo in Milwaukee, then returned to Corallini.
“He’s a great guy, a family guy,” Novella said. “This is a partnership with him as a friend and a business partner.”
Art + Sons designed Bar Corallini and will design this new restaurant, Osteria Novella, as well.
RUTHIE HAUGE
More seafood, brighter colors
Even more than his current restaurant, Osteria Novella will take inspiration from Novella’s childhood in Sorrento, south of Naples on the Italian coast.
“It’s going to be more coastal, a little more seafood-oriented,” Novella said.
He’ll still do fresh pasta, pizza and lemoncello, a liqueur he makes himself. Diners should expect similar prices to Bar Corallini (apps $10-$20, pizzas, pastas and mains $20-$30).
The location at 2903 University Ave. is near Shorewood Hills, close to University Station (La Brioche True Food) and next to Curry in the Box.
Daniels Construction is doing the buildout. Art + Sons, the same Madison firm that designed Bar Corallini, is working on the design, which Novella described as “brighter.”
“We’re building this beautiful bar,” Novella said, inspired by “the Sorrento coast — a lot of blue, yellow, green.”
Novanta opened in October 2019 at 2903 University Ave. in Madison. Osteria Novella is set to open there this fall.
MICHELLE STOCKER
Construction on Osteria Novella is “already halfway done,” Novella said, in part because it was a restaurant before. Novanta — which has another location, still open on Old Sauk Road in Middleton — closed in June.
Novella anticipates seating for 75 (a bit less than Bar Corallini’s 100 or so), a full bar featuring Italian-inspired cocktails (pending approval by the city), and “unique desserts.” Novella started his career as a pastry chef.
Novella wants the new restaurant to be open six days a week — the owners are still negotiating which day off they’ll take — with dinner service only to start. Because the location is near UW Hospital, “we might introduce lunch at some point, but I want to make sure we’re strong on dinner,” Novella said.
Leaving a restaurant legacy
Opening a restaurant with Food Fight, a 31-year-old restaurant group with 15 concepts mostly in the Madison area, is easier than going it alone, Novella said. Food Fight has systems in place for payroll, insurance, hiring and more. Now, Novella is learning about construction and permits, a whole other side of the business.
“This is what I need to do next,” Novella said. “This is the natural step to move on, for my career. And I’m doing it with a person I love, with a friend.”
Chef Giovanni Novella opened Bar Corallini in 2019.
MICHELLE STOCKER
Novella is taking a consulting role with Food Fight and will continue to oversee the menu at Bar Corallini even after a new chef is hired to run the kitchen day to day.
Osteria Novella is five minutes from the chef’s house, making for an easier commute. Novella likes the idea of opening an independent spot on “a chain restaurant side of town.”
He also wants to leave a legacy for his kids, a boy and two girls, ages 9, 7 and 5. He wants them to grow up in the restaurant business, learning service first hand.
“As a chef, as an entrepreneur, I cannot rest,” Novella said. “I never really chill. … I just want people to know that Bar Corallini is still going to thrive and this one is just going to be a new adventure for me as a chef. I can’t wait. The city of Madison is going to get even more delicious.”
Dining and Cooking