A new Brooklyn-style pizzeria and Italian restaurant with roots in Naples, Italy, launched this spring in Naples, Florida.  

The new local venue has been a lifetime in the making for Mike Bruno, who opened Bruno’s Italian House & Pizzeria in late March in Tanglewood Marketplace, the center anchored by Outback Steakhouse and Snyderman’s Shoes on U.S. 41 North.  

“Ever since I was a kid, I said I wanted to open my own place with my own name,” Bruno said.  

Bruno has the culinary pedigree and decades of family history to support his new venture. His parents were born in Naples, Italy, and immigrated when they were young to the U.S., where the family operated an Italian restaurant in the New York area for nearly 25 years.  

Until moving to Southwest Florida three years ago, Bruno lived in New Jersey, where he learned about sauce and pasta and pizza from the best.  

“I learned the business from my father,” he said. “I come from a family of chefs and pizzamen. It’s all in my blood. It’s a family tradition. It’s something we’ve been doing for a long time. We put our heart and soul into it and take it very seriously.”  

Bruno’s menu includes appetizers, salads, soups, cold and hot subs, pasta and baked specialties, including eggplant parmigiana, lasagna and gnocchi capri. In addition to Italian favorites, Bruno’s specializes in seafood dishes, such as linguini with clams and shrimp scampi. Classic desserts include cannoli, limoncello cake and tiramisu. Beer and wine are served, too.  

“Anything you get here is all made to order. It’s all homemade. It’s all authentic,” Bruno said. “We only use the finest and the best ingredients. We buy only the best and the best quality. They’ll be able to taste it in the food.”  

While Bruno and his wife used to vacation in Southwest Florida, they always thought it would be a nice place to relocate permanently. His wife became employed as a nurse at Lee Health, while he searched for two years to find a suitable location for a new restaurant. The local retail center space where he landed was not formerly a restaurant, so it required extensive work to convert the storefront into a restaurant.  

“It was total buildout from the ground up,” Bruno said. “I had to knock all the walls down and change the plumbing. Ten months later, here we are. I thought it would be done sooner. It’s been a ride.”  

Bruno’s, 4910 Tamiami Trail N., Suite 124, is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and closed Sunday. Bruno’s has seating for about 50 inside and will eventually have some tables on pavers out front. Takeout and delivery also are available.