When restaurateur Paul Shaked and noted chef Adam Leonti teamed up to open Sofia’s Panificio e Vino in Little Italy, the world looked very different. At the time, the neighborhood was bustling with tourists, sidewalk diners, and to-go boxes from nearby Lombardi’s Pizza.

It seemed like the perfect place to open Sofia’s, a revamped version of Sofia’s of Little Italy, a 15-year-old Italian-American spot owned by Shaked’s father. But obviously, those plans have changed.