“When you run a business, you work seven days, Sundays included,” said Gherardo Guarducci, 51, the co-founder of the Sant Ambroeus Hospitality Group, which includes its flagship restaurant, Sant Ambroeus, on the Upper East Side, the upscale Italian spot Casa Lever in Midtown Manhattan and Felice, a wine bar and restaurant that has four locations (one of them is a bar/lounge) across the city.

In 2019, a new Sant Ambroeus will open at Brookfield Place. Originally from Prato, near Florence, Mr. Guarducci has been a New Yorker for more than 30 years. He lives in West Chelsea with his black Labrador, Lapo, 4. Two out of his four children, Camillo, 17, and Gaetano, 23, live nearby while his daughter Ludovica, 21, lives in Washington, D.C. and Giulia, 25, lives in London.