Stephen Lindley

Chef Daniel Lindley is bringing more Italian fare to the Southside with his new restaurant, Alleia.

“Five years ago I wanted to do a restaurant with pizza that was done well,” Mr. Lindley said. “I developed the concept over time, coming up with a full Italian menu.”

Mr. Lindley already owns St. John’s Restaurant and St. John’s Meeting Place eateries in the 1200 block of Market Street. Now, he’s cutting his teeth on a third, which offers made-from-scratch Italian fare.

Mr. Lindley’s brother Nathan is opening the Public House restaurant this spring at Warehouse Row. His other brother, Stephen, is working at Alleia.

The restaurant opened Monday and serves dinner only. Mr. Lindley describes the menu as full Italian, heavy on traditional items with some nontraditional Italian dishes. The menu has various antipastis, salads, pastas, main dishes and pizzas.

All food is made from scratch from fresh ingredients, which is how restaurants in Italy make their food, he said.

“Making it from scratch certainly makes all the difference,” he said.

Mr. Lindley declined to say what his investment is in the restaurant that’s located in the old Harrington Building at 25 E. Main St. near the intersection of Market. The restaurant employs 25 people.

Alleia has a custom brick oven for cooking pizzas and other items, he said. The wood fire oven’s bricks were cut by hand, he said, and is similar to pizza ovens in restaurants in Italy.

Architect Thomas Johnson said he looks forward to eating Alleia’s oven-cooked pizza. He’s traveled to Rome and Venice several times and has eaten pizzas there.

Mr. Johnson said he has talked several times with Mr. Lindley about Alleia. Mr. Johnson owns the St. John’s Hotel Apartments, where Mr. Lindley’s other restaurants are located.

Mr. Lindley describes Alleia’s decor as “chic but rustic.” The restaurant is trimmed in 300-year-old wood taken from the Harrington Building.

A large wood door with iron hoop handle opens into the lobby. Mirrors, curtains and artwork decorate the restaurant, which can seat 150. The facility has a communal table that can seat 32, and the table has both metal-finished chairs and two stools that resemble tree stumps.

Mr. Lindley hopes to offer Sunday brunch in four to six weeks. The restaurant is open from 5-10 p.m. Monday to Thursday and 5 p.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday.