New owners: Family fare will be on the menu at site of former Lavo Ristorante

SAUGUS – It?s been almost a year since the owners of Lavo Ristorante on Route 1 North in Saugus closed its doors, but now a new group is looking to reopen the location, this time as Bistro One.Mark Nicholson, part-owner of Roma Restaurant Group LLC, said the new restaurant will be a far cry from the old nightclub scene that plagued Route 1.?We?re looking for a different type of crowd,” said Nicholson, who was at the restaurant Wednesday working on the floors. “We?ll have a small stage for jazz ensembles. It?s going to be a really nice place. Nothing like they used to have.”On Tuesday, Nicholson, along with co-owner Anthony Oliviero, went before the Board of Selectmen to request a liquor license transfer from former owner PAM Inc.The board voted to continue the hearing until October to allow special town counsel Ira Zeleznick time to look into bankruptcy proceedings by PAM Inc.The board held several show cause hearings in 2010 over ownership issues at Lavo before the restaurant went out of business in January.Oliviero also owns a pair of Italian restaurants in Wakefield and Marblehead called Cafe` Italia, and Selectman Stephen Horlick said he looked into these businesses and was happy with what he saw.?This guy runs a great establishment,” said Horlick. “He runs exactly what he says. It?s a place to come and eat and listen to some nice music. He does what he says he?s going to do. If you look at his past businesses, every one of them is a family-oriented restaurant.”Horlick also noted the design plans for the new restaurant show only tables and chairs.?There?s no place in there to try and turn it into anything else,” said Horlick. “Any changes with the business plan has to be approved by the board.”Oliviero, who is listed on the license application as the manager of the restaurant, stressed the difference between his group and the previous owner, and said his long career in the restaurant business speaks for itself.?We?ve been in business for 30 years,” said Oliviero. “People know what kind of restaurant we run. We had nothing to do with the previous owners. Because of them, we?re paying the price.”Nicholson said he was hoping the board would approve the transfer on Tuesday, but if the next hearing goes according to plan, he said he can have the restaurant up and running by November and is willing to do whatever he can to help the board with the process.?The board was very cordial to us and I appreciate that,” said Nicholson. “They want some closure and get some clarifications on the bankruptcy. Anything we can do to assist them we?re going to do.”Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected]. You can follow him on Twitter at @MattTempesta.