Italian specialties have returned to a familiar spot at the Downtown Allentown Market. Pasta & Pies, offering pizza, pasta, calzones and other Italian dishes, opened Tuesday at the 27 N. Seventh St. market. The business fills the space left vacant by Tavola, an artisan pizza and signature pasta concept, which closed in May after 3.5 years.

Pasta & Pies is a family-owned and -operated enterprise, run by Alex Vasquez and his wife, Krystle Cruz. Vasquez has more than 20 years of experience in the restaurant industry and previously held cooking gigs at other Lehigh Valley dining establishments.