Owner of Lock 50 plans second restaurant in Canal District

WORCESTER – Restaurateur Ed Russo of Lock 50 is planning to open a second restaurant in the city’s Canal District by turning a vacant building on Harding Street into an Italian eatery.

The new restaurant at 65 Water St. will be called Russo. Lock 50 Executive Chef Tim Russo, who is Mr. Russo’s nephew, will also serve as executive chef for the new business.

Once open, possibly in April, Russo will seat about 100, feature Italian wines and show off décor that Mr. Russo purchased from the recently closed Durgin-Park restaurant in Boston. He said the 3,000-square-foot space’s features, including rustic stone walls, struck him as the perfect site for an Italian restaurant.

“It looks like a North End style restaurant,” said Mr. Russo, referring to the Boston neighborhood that is home to multiple Italian restaurants.

Lock 50 will preview the new menu for Russo during Worcester Restaurant Week, Feb. 25 through March 9. Offerings will include the pasta dish buccatini amatriciana, mushroom risotto, pork chop Marsala and eggplant parmigianino.

Mr. Russo described the restaurant’s cuisine as traditional Italian-American food that could appeal to families. Pasta and sauces will be homemade. Some of the dishes will be items that have been successful at Lock 50, which focuses on modern American cuisine and shared dishes.

Russo will likely employ about 30 people.

The new restaurant adds another business to the rapidly changing Canal District, a neighborhood south of Union Station where old industrial and commercial buildings are being converted into chic retail boutiques, foodie magnets and modern dining alternatives.

The $21 million Harding Green apartment, public market and retail complex is under construction at Kelley Square, and the Pawtucket Red Sox plan to move to a new baseball park that will be built in the Canal District by the city of Worcester.

This story has been amended to correct the location of the new restaurant and the ending date of restaurant week.

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