Justus Frank and Jeremy Barber are sticking with Italian food with their pop-up restaurant Elo’s Italian Restaurant in Del Ray. It’s been a little more than a year since the partners closed their date night spot Live Oak (1603 Commonwealth Avenue) and reopened it as Elo’s. The pop-up has been a hit with customers, Frank says, adding that it’s a lot of trouble and expense to switch back to a southern cuisine concept.

For one thing, Frank hired pasta chef Francisco Quinteros to prepare his pasta dishes, and worked with a team of staffers for a year-and-a-half on the concept. The company, like most restaurants, had to raise prices recently and Frank has focused on more vegetarian dishes, since the price of meat has gone up.