Chef Matteo Venini is leaving Lupo Verde and Lupo Verde Osteria to open Stellina Pizzeria, an upscale casual Italian eatery near Union Market (399 Morse St. NE). He and his business partner, Antonio Matarazzo, also a veteran of Lupo Verde’s restaurant group, hope to open the restaurant in late October. The menu will focus on pizzas, house-made pastas, sandwiches, and coastal Italian street food.

It’s a big shift for the chef. “I’m a little scared because I know it will be different,” he says. “But doing fine dining every day is stressful, so I’m ready for a change.” He'll fire 10-inch pizzas in a Marra Forni gas oven. “We want the flavor, look, and lightness of Neapolitan pizza with the crispiness of Roman pizza,” Venini says.