Nick Varano and Frank DePasquale are keeping it all in the family — figuratively speaking. As the two restaurateurs officially introduce their first joint venture within the Encore Boston Harbor today, they’re hoping it will live up to its name, Fratelli, which means “brothers” in Italian. “We’ve been friends for over 25 years,” Varano told the Track. “We’re really like brothers and we want everyone to feel like family when they come in here. Obviously we thought of a thousand different names and we said what brings us together is Fratelli.”

“I love him like a brother — a much older brother, obviously,” he added, razzing his new business partner just as a true sibling would do. “So with the name, we’re all family, so come in and enjoy. But we joke and get along like we’re brothers. We have love and respect for one another.”