Italian eatery Totaro's planned for Tarentum

Al Colelli grew up in a big Italian family, watching at his mother’s knee while she whipped up favorites such as meatballs and marinara.

The Arnold resident picked up a thing or two.

“I’ve been cooking for awhile, and I love to do it,” said Colelli, 52. “Call me crazy, but I decided to take the leap and open a place of my own.”

Totaro’s will open this fall at 312 E. Sixth Ave. in the heart of the Tarentum business corridor.

A varied menu will feature American classics, such as chicken salad and steak hoagies, but will have plenty of influence from Colelli’s heritage.

He plans a prosciutto sandwich, hot sausage, rigatoni and stuffed banana peppers. Sandwiches will start at $10; a 6-inch pizza will cost $12.

Colelli’s signature item, a steak and cheese hoagie, is a longtime favorite of family and friends.

It is so popular, in fact, that he rented a booth last fall at the Millvale Days festival as a sort of test to see if the public agreed with his family and friends. Apparently, they do. Colelli said the festival-goers couldn’t get enough.

“That’s really what pushed me to do this,” Colelli said. “I had been thinking about opening a place, but the response was so great, so encouraging, that I’m doing it.”

The casual restaurant will fill a space formerly occupied by The Buzz, a smoothie shop that closed after a Christmas fire.

Colelli’s spot fills the ground floor of a 1940s building constructed by Tarentum native Heinie Wiesenbaugh, a running back for the Pittsburgh Pirates football team, the first name of today’s Pittsburgh Steelers, and a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine, who established his practice in the borough.

Bob Fenoglietto, who owns the building, said extensive renovations are underway.

“We’re going to put roll-up doors in the front and have sidewalk-facing seating,” he said.

“People will be able to sit at the counter and enjoy the view.”

Colelli said there will be WiFi available. Meals will be available for takeout, as well.

Colelli said he has soaked up culinary lessons over the years from a cousin who owned a Penn Hills restaurant and friend Phil McKinley, a longtime owner of P&M Pizza in Arnold.

“They’ve really helped me learn. I love watching them and feeding off their energy,” Colelli said.

“I always thought someday I’d take the chance.”

Colelli said he would love to open a Totaro’s Two in Arnold if the opportunity ever presents itself.

“My big thing is for the community to come eat, sit outside and enjoy themselves,” he said.