Here’s where popular St. Johns County Italian restaurant plans to open new location early next year

Updated on:

11/14/2025

Bella Vista is expanding. (Google/Facebook)

There’s penne’d up demand.

Fruit Cove’s popular Bella Vista Italian eatery is set to open a second location, Bella Vista A’Mare, at 311 Third Street in Jacksonville Beach in the coming months, co-owner Giovanni Prignano confirmed to The Citizen Friday.

The new Duval outpost at 3011 3rd St. will offer up the same authentic Italian dining experience that has made the original Bella Vista a local favorite, Prignano pledged.

Bella Vista plans a new spot i Jax Beach. (Bella Vista)

An authentically-accented native of Sicignano degli Alburni in southern Italy, Prignano attended culinary school in his native land before moving to New York City to further pursue a culinary career.

“He worked at various restaurants and as a personal chef, bringing his customers a taste of Italian hospitality,” the restaurant’s site states.

Prignano met his wife, Alysha, a New Jersey native, in New York and the couple later relocated to Jacksonville where they now jointly manage both the kitchen and dining room of Bella Vista.

The restaurant’s menu centers on high-quality ingredients imported from Italy, including Italian-grain pasta and San Marzano tomatoes, according to its website.

Bella Vista A’Mare will feature a similar menu the Fruit Cove location, including traditional favorites like ravioli al forno, pappardelle Bolognese, veal parmigiana, and gnocchi al gorgonzola.