The new Per Bacco has gleaming mahogany and stone walls. It has a wood-fired pizza oven visible behind the new bar. And it will have the same delicious food. Bruno and Marisa Cataldo have making and serving pizzas in their own restaurants on Elkhart’s west side since 2000. On Dec. 11, 2010, they opened Per Bacco, a sit-down Italian restaurant at 28046 C.R. 16, just off Nappanee Street.

That’s the same day their first grandchild, Natalia, was born. She battled hydraencephaly her entire life and died Oct. 11 of this year. Bruno and Marisa, their daughter, Maria, and her husband, Craig Rice, doted on and showered love on that girl during her seven years of life. Her death delayed the opening of the new space until Nov. 20.