The family behind Little Italy's incredibly popular Civico 1845 is opening a new restaurant in San Diego's Bankers Hill community. Located on the ground floor of the building that houses the iconic Mister A's, the unnamed concept will be an upscale "Calabria meets San Diego" fusion eatery with dishes that combine Italian and Southern Californian influences including a healthy menu devoted to vegan options.
In its three year tenure, Civico 1845 has become one of San Diego's most beloved restaurants due to its authentic and contemporary take on Southern Italian dishes including a full menu for those on a vegan diet. From the Gallo family - Eugenio and brothers Dario & Pietro, who hail from the city of Cosenza in the Calabria region of Southern Italy - Civico 1845 (pronounced CHEE-vee-ko) opened in June 2015 and has been packing the house and keeping hungry diners lining up at the door to get a taste of its expansive array of scratch-made pastas, breads, entrees and desserts prepared by Head Chef Alfonso Pisacane with San Diego grown and seasonal ingredients. It's no surprise that with the popularity of its flagship eatery that the team behind Civico 1845 is opening a new restaurant.
The Civico team is being tight-lipped about details of its newest project and hope to release incremental teasers about the new restaurant over the next 5 months. Currently developing under the legal entity Semper Ad Maiora, which means "always towards greater things" in Latin, the new restaurant will build off of the successes of its sister eatery, adding a more refined twist to Calabrian cuisine but using locally sourced ingredients. In the coming months, the new restaurant will undergo construction and once completed will offer 6,000 square feet of dining space, including a large patio on 5th Avenue. Expect a menu of Italian dishes prepared with fresh ingredients, preserved vegetables, and meats and fish. Kitchen manager and owner Pietro Gallo, who is a vegan himself, will also assist in developing a plant-based menu ensuring adherence to vegan guidelines. The restaurant will also have a full liquor license with an array of craft cocktails, caffè corretto (espresso with Italian liquor), craft beer, and a list of Californian and Italian wines.
The new restaurant from Civico 1845 founders aims to open by year's end but will likely not unveil until 2019.Â
