For the better part of the past two decades, the name Cinelli has been synonymous with Italian-American cuisine in the Triangle. Gianni Cinelli moved here from New York in 1998 and opened the first Cinelli’s in Durham in 2001. Brothers Gaitano and Peter soon followed suit with Cinelli’s (same name, but a more casual pizzeria concept) in North Raleigh and Cary.

Both of those brothers have since moved on, but Gianni Cinelli stuck around. By his reckoning, he has owned or partnered in 22 restaurants over the years, including Vivo, which remains open on Six Forks Road. The concepts have ranged from family-friendly pizzeria to romantic ristorante, but all have shared a common thread: roots in the Italian-American tradition Cinelli knew while growing up in a first-generation family of restaurateurs in New York.