Days after announcing its Kettleman Lane location would be closing its doors, Pietro’s Trattoria has revealed the grand opening of its new digs across town.
The restaurant will officially open its 282 Rocky Lane location on Saturday, Nov. 8 at Reynolds Ranch.
“Nearly 40 years after opening in Lodi, we are humbled to open a new home for Pietro’s — one that honors our history while positioning us for the future,” owner Pete Murdaca said. “We believe what we offer can stand alongside the best restaurants in the Bay Area and across the country, while remaining deeply rooted in Lodi as a catalyst for the city’s continued growth and prosperity.”
Murdaca told San Francisco restaurant publication “Eater” that the 317 E. Kettleman Lane location was too small to accommodate the ever-growing amount of patrons.
“We were getting close to the line of being busy into chaos,” he told the outlet. “It was just time to move. We’ve almost, quite literally, outgrown the space that we are in. It’s a square peg jammed into a round hole at this point, which is a great problem to have.”
Designed by Arcanum Architecture with interiors by Jon de la Cruz of DLC-ID, the new 300-seat, 9,000-square-foot restaurant honors Pietro’s past while embracing a friendly California aesthetic.
The bar room evokes an “old-school,” eat-in kitchen with green tile wainscoting, block-printed grapevine wallcovering and mid-century pendants. The main dining room expands on Pietro’s familiar floorplan with family-style booths and limoncello-inspired color.
A feature built specifically for the new location is the glass-walled pasta lab, where guests can watch chefs handcraft pasta and make bread from scratch each day.
This open workspace not only brings the craft of Italian cooking to life, but also serves as a creative hub for developing new recipes and hosting occasional classes and demonstrations.
“For the new Pietro’s, I focused on referencing the interiors of the original space while honoring their family history and updating the convivial California aesthetic,” de la Cruz said. “It’s familiar and fresh at once — a place that feels like home.”
Two rooms adjacent to the main dining space will double as private dining areas available for family celebrations, winemaker dinners and special events. Each features a large-scale wallpaper mural depicting the Lodi landscape and surrounding vineyards, and a fireplace anchors one end of the space while a floor-to-ceiling, double-sided glass wine wall separates the rooms from the main dining area.
A fully covered outdoor patio presents a more lively, garden-inspired aesthetic with floral landscaping, bistro lighting and banquette seating arranged around a central water fountain feature while a fireplace along the back garden wall adds warmth and ambiance.
The restaurant’s main entrance is designed to make takeout pickups quick and convenient and doubles as a small market, offering Pietro’s merchandise and Italian pantry staples.
It also provides a glimpse into the restaurant’s craftsmanship through a glass-enclosed meat locker where the team cures meats used exclusively in-house.
In addition, the restrooms showcase custom wallpaper featuring original artwork created by Murdaca’s grandmother, an artist whose sketchbooks were filled with portraits and drawings of people from her everyday life.
Guests can expect the same menu from the Kettleman Lane location, including antipasti favorites like Rosetta’s arancini, burrata toast, ricotta, and panzanella salad; pastas like pappardelle, ripieni, and amatriciana; and main courses such as porchetta and oxtail.
Pizza favorites return as menu staples, now baked in a new Mugnaini pizza oven made in Naples and assembled in Healdsburg.
Dishes affectionately known as “The Classics” have never left the menu, including chicken parmigiana, Rosie’s pollo fritto and pork milanese.
Nettie’s Cut for Two will also remain on the menu while desserts continue to offer a sweet finish with house favorites like The Spumoni, lemon olive oil cake and budino.
Originally founded in 1956 and named for the family patriarch after immigrating from Calabria, Italy, the restaurant found its second home in Lodi in 1985.
Today, third-generation owner Murdaca leads the restaurant into its next era with a team of 185 employees.
Murdaca, who attended culinary school in Italy and trained in a Michelin-starred kitchen before returning to Lodi, took over ownership in 2019. Months later, the pandemic struck.
“There were moments I wanted to hand it all back — but we didn’t,” he said. “We chose to fight through, to protect our people, and to carry forward the values that have always defined Pietro’s: quality food, genuine hospitality, and respect for our team.”
The original Pietro’s in Vacaville still stands, as does a second location in that city called “Pietro’s #2,” the former of which is operated by other members of the Murdaca family.
There were 10 or 11 Pietro’s throughout Northern California, Murdaca said, but only three remain today.
The family remains tight-lipped about the Kettleman Lane location’s future, but have said more information will be disclosed in 2026.