Paul Verica, chef and owner of The Stanley, is opening a new restaurant in NoDa. Orto, which means a kitchen garden in Italian, will serve house-made pastas and pizzas. The restaurant will be off 36^th Street, under the Novel apartment buildings that also house cocktail bar Idlewild and Jeni’s Ice Creams.

Verica says he looked at the space a year or so ago, but wasn’t ready to sign a lease at that time. The building’s lease with a taco chain fell through, as did one with Fuel Pizza, giving Verica the option to lease the space again when the timing was better.

“I wanted to be here [at The Stanley] at least a year before I really started to look at anything else,” Verica says.

The restaurant will be open for lunch and dinner and likely not take reservations. Verica will travel between both restaurants, with his son, Alex, running the kitchen at The Stanley. A new chef will be hired to run the kitchen at Orto.

Verica says the concept will fall somewhere between Mama Ricotta’s and Stagioni in terms of formality of the food. Dishes will be priced between $12 and $28. The James Beard Award semifinalist chef also one day hopes to open restaurants that serve his take on bar food and a tapas spot, but felt the Italian concept fit best in NoDa.

To prepare for the opening, Verica will travel to Italy for a research trip, and take some time to learn more about pasta technique.

Optimistically, Verica hopes Orto will be open in April. Follow the restaurant on Instagram for updates. —Kristen Wile

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