For years the Italian-born restauranteur Bernardo Nolfo traveled the globe opening sleek outlets of the glamorous Milan-based restaurant Bice for its owners, the Ruggeri family. He often traversing to far-flung locales in Europe to Asia and spent time in Houston for what turned into Bice’s short-lived stay in The Galleria shopping center.

But when it came time for Nolfo to do his own thing, he knew he wanted to relocate somewhere in the sunbelt where the climate was a temperate one and the people were as friendly as those he grew up with in his native Sicily. Lucky for us, Nolfo chose Texas.