Italian restaurant Piccoli Piatti Pizzeria will come to the Wildwood Shopping Center in Bethesda in 2020, taking over the former Oakville Grille space, Federal Realty Investment Trust announced Monday.
The restaurant is a concept from Francis Namin, a restaurateur who owns Fish Taco, which has a location at Wildwood.
Namin and his family are no strangers to local Italian cuisine, as they also owned pizzeria Red Tomato Café and Centro Italian Grill, a pair of Bethesda restaurants that have since closed.
Namin did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.
Federal Realty owns and operates the Wildwood Shopping Center. Piccoli Piatti will join several recent and upcoming additions.
“The combination of new dining options, new tenants including Flower Child, Bethesda Bagels and Joe & the Juice, and Wildwood’s recent neighborhood upgrades allows us to create a place where our community feels welcome to gather, shop and dine,” Federal Realty Director of Asset Management Kari Glinski said in a statement.
Flower Child arrived at the shopping center in early July. Joe & The Juice and Bethesda Bagels are expected to come this summer.
Sister restaurants Oakville Grille and Wine Bar and Wildwood Italian Cuisine closed in mid-February when the ownership was unable to pay rent. The 3,473-foot Oakville Grille space is between clothing store Sequel and design shop Sanctuary Interior Design.
Piccoli Piatti means “small plates” in Italian. The restaurant will feature mini dishes of Panzanella salad, calamari and house-made spreads, among other items, Federal Realty said.
The restaurant’s pizza will be Neo Neapolitan, a combination of Italian and American styles.
Piccoli Piatti’s arrival was first reported by Store Reporter.
Charlie Wright can be reached at charlie.wright@moco360.media