Silvano Marchetto’s first attempt at a lower-priced companion to his Greenwich Village celebrity magnet Da Silvano—Uma! Gwyneth!—ended up giving him indigestion, but now he’s going to try again. In 1992, he opened Bar Pitti next door, with partner Giovanni Tognozzi, but the two quickly began fighting (was Tognozzi hijacking customers? Did Marchetto steal a meatball recipe?), ending up in court. Marchetto, who sold his stake two years ago, thinks the problem was Tognozzi (“impossible to work with”), not the concept of a more affordable café. So he’s going to open Scuteria across Sixth Avenue this fall. “It will be lighter fare, some organic food, and no tablecloths,” says Marchetto. His neighbor turned rival Tognozzi now seems unfazed. “We concentrate on what goes on inside these walls and try not to worry about competition,” he said.

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• Archive: “Intelligencer”
• Articles by Beth Landman
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