Two veterans of prominent Cincinnati-area restaurants have teamed up to launch an Italian eatery in downtown Covington. Since Carmelo’s opened three months ago, diners have been flocking to its doors.

It’s become so immediately popular that I was surprised at how hard it was to get a reservation any later than 6 p.m., even mid-week. In January, no less — the slowest month of the year for most restaurants. And this was a particularly cold and snowy one. Impressive, I thought, before we had even a sip of a cocktail or a morsel of food.