A modern Italian restaurant that also pays tribute to Birmingham's industrial past is the latest addition to downtown's Pizitz Food Hall. The restaurant, Fero, will open for dinner beginning this Saturday, July 8. "Fero is Latin for steel, and we wanted to pay homage to and recognize the city's history as a steel town," Matt Wagman, a co-owner of the restaurant, said in an interview with AL.com. "Somebody told me that Birmingham was known as the Pittsburgh of the South, and that stuck with me.

"We wanted a name that felt a little old, not too modern, something that harkened back to the history of the town." Wagman and chef Akhtar Nawab, both of New York City, are the principal partners in the restaurant. Their Fourth Earl Hospitality group also owns and operates the Choza Taqueria food stall and The Louis bar at the Pizitz Food Hall.