St. Paul’s Macalester-Groveland neighborhood has recently gotten a new restaurant called Due Focacceria. With its rustic build and wooden furniture, Due Focacceria brings you to Italy.

Officially opened in July of this year, Due Focacceria is unique compared to its surrounding restaurants with its walk up window, bar and Italian market of meats and cheeses.

Right across the street from the St. Catherine’s University campus, Due Focacceria has proven popular within the area.

“We get a lot of college students. Usually, around 5 p.m. this place fills up,” bartender Tyler Park Skone said.

Although a bit small in size with its 30 seats inside, Due Focacceria makes up for it with its quality menu featuring sandwiches, soups, pizza, cheese and meat platters and desserts. Additionally, the menu has gluten-free and vegan options.

On the menu, you’ll see influences from the Sicily and Tuscany, regions of Italy where the owner, Eric Carrara’s parents are from.

For any recommendations, the staff is more than happy to tell you the most popular dishes or perhaps their own personal favorites.

“We get a lot of orders for the Prosciutto sandwich and the Basil Pesto,” general manager Ali K. said.

Instead of having a grab-and-go meal, plan to dine-in as prices are steep for a student budget. An order of a Pastrami sandwich comes to a total of $14, meat and cheese spreads up to $18 and the average salad can be almost $10.  Despite the higher than average pricing, college students still flock to the restaurant.

For those of age, the bar offers an extensive menu of wine, cocktails and beer and a smaller menu for nonalcoholic beverages such as coffee, lattes and hot cocoa.

Situated on the busy intersection of Fairview and Randolph, Due Focacceria is a quick option for the busy commuter.

“We get a lot of families and people walking their dogs ordering from the walk-up window because it’s so easy and fast,” Park Skone said.

The walk-up window may be the best option for many since the parking lot is very limited, getting crowded with around four to five cars.

This is the second restaurant owned by Eric and Vanessa Carrara,  who also run the Nokomis-area Italian Eatery, a full-service fine dining Italian restaurant in South Minneapolis, which opened in 2015 and has proven to be successful in the area with the average 4.7/5.0 review.

To see what’s new at Due Focacceria, they post regularly on their Instagram @due_focacceria as well as their Facebook page of the same name.