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What Chef Paul Verica has planned for Italian restaurant in NoDa

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — James Beard-nominated Chef Paul Verica will expand his restaurant portfolio with an Italian concept next year.

The goal is for Orto — or kitchen garden, in Italian — to open in April in NoDa, Verica said.

That upscale casual restaurant will occupy over 3,000 square feet in the Novel NoDa project on 36th Street. That’s adjacent to the Lynx Blue Line’s 36th Street Station.

Verica — also behind The Stanley in Charlotte’s Elizabeth neighborhood — said he was drawn to the neighborhood’s walkability and boom in apartments. “I want us to be a neighborhood spot, not a destination,” he said.

Read more here about plans for the restaurant.