For six years, business and life partners Brendon Hudson, right, and David Monteagudo have owned and operated Liliahna, a catering business named after Hudson’s great-aunt, who hails from a small town (Port S. Elpidio) in Southern Italy.

But last September, the duo, who met while still in culinary school, decided to branch out their business and open a bistro in Mt. Vernon with food focused on Rome. “We wanted to be more accessible,” says Hudson. “We wanted a place where anyone and everyone can come. We want people to come in and feel like they are transported.”