Eric Papachristos said he remembers playing street hockey outside as a kid in the 1980s and seeing loads of traffic headed to The Venetian, known across the South Shore for decades for its southern Italian fare.

"It was always crazy busy. Even as a kid, I knew it had a big draw and I knew it had a lot of history," said Papachristos, whose father owns Niko’s Restaurant, a popular breakfast spot also with a long history in Jackson Square.