A longtime Bala Cynwyd bistro is closing, and Center City Italian restaurant veterans are moving in

After more than three decades, the Wakim family is handing off Bala Cynwyd’s Aldar Bistro to veterans of Center City’s Gran Caffè L’Aquila, who plan to transform the longtime Lebanese restaurant into a soft-lit, white-tablecloth Southern Italian destination called Bruzi.

Two Philly-based couples from Cosenza in Calabria — Luciano and Tania Spensierato and Marco Mondello and Anna Bellizzi — are buying the restaurant at 285 Montgomery Ave. from Joseph Wakim and family.

The sale, contingent on approval of the liquor license transfer, will end the Wakims’ 34-year run at Aldar, which will be open during the transfer process. The restaurant succeeded the family’s Italian restaurant, Allegresse, which opened in 1980.

The Wakims — brothers Joseph, Michel, and George, and sister Fadia — also own Murray’s Deli next door, as well as Evviva, a restaurant, catering venue, and private-events space in Narberth.

“We all grow older, and it’s time to step aside,” Joseph Wakim said. “Over the past five years, we probably had 10 suitors, and I said, ‘No, thank you.’”

He said he ultimately chose the two couples because they were “the right families for us to pass the torch to.”

Tania Spensierato said Aldar “checked all the boxes we were looking for. We wanted to be on the Main Line. We wanted tall ceilings, an existing liquor license, and a space that was roomy but not enormous. We weren’t looking for a 200- or 300-seat restaurant. We wanted a spacious kitchen so the chef would have room to do what he does best.”

“We also wanted to be part of a community,” she said. “Bala Cynwyd and Lower Merion really fit that vision. The location on Montgomery Avenue was exactly what we were looking for.”

Aldar will remain open until the liquor-license transfer is approved, a process that Wakim believes could be completed in September. The new owners then anticipate about two months of renovations before opening Bruzi in late October or November.

Luciano Spensierato has worked behind the bar at Gran Caffè L’Aquila since 2015, while Marco Mondello joined the Center City restaurant a year later as a bartender. Tania Spensierato works in retail, though her background is in restaurants. Bellizzi is a scientist at Temple University.

The name Bruzi refers to the ancient people of Calabria, where all the partners trace their roots. Tania Spensierato, a first-generation Italian American, said the restaurant is intended to reflect that heritage.

The menu will focus on house-made pastas and traditional Calabrian cooking. Planned dishes include sliced black boar prosciutto, Calabrian cheeses, fusilli with slow-cooked meat sauce, baked lamb with tomatoes, olives, and roasted peppers, and grilled tuna with arugula.

The beverage program also will be a centerpiece. Marco Mondello, an Italian-trained sommelier, plans to open with about 100 Italian wines and expand the list over time. Spensierato, who has worked as a bartender for 35 years, said cocktails will also play a prominent role.

Glynis Tart of Verden Interior Design will give the dining room a modern Mediterranean makeover with blue-and-gold accents inspired by the Calabrian flag, along with olive trees and other greenery, Tania Spensierato said. A small retail section will sell imported Italian products.

The partners have hired an Italian-born chef currently working in Florida but declined to identify him until a later date. “Our first priority is simply to get started,” Tania Spensierato said. “One goal at a time.”