For nearly 100 years, Lansing’s east side Italian cuisine was defined by Emil’s on Michigan Avenue. The restaurant closed in 2015. But the long wait for freshly made pasta will be over soon as former Okemos mainstay Tannin moves in — blocks away from the old Emil’s site — in the former Tabooli and Kentucky Fried Chicken drive-thru restaurant.

Philadelphia native and owner Chris Roelofs never went to Emil’s, but he brings a lifetime knowledge of Philadelphia’s storied small Italian eateries to Lansing. “There are not a lot of those around here I found, which is why I did this,” Roelofs said. “I would always enjoy going over to these hole-in-the-wall places in Philly. We want to replicate that with a modern understanding of food.”