Osteria Amici, a popular pizza restaurant from Elkhart, plans to expand to South Bend's Eddy Street Commons. The new site, formerly occupied by Urban Outfitters, will feature the same high-quality ingredients and processes as the original. Construction is scheduled to start soon, with an opening targeted for late fall or early winter.
The original Osteria Amici opened in May 2025 at 240 E. Jackson Blvd. in Elkhart’s River District, operated by Navarre Hospitality Group and Paul Cataldo, a world champion pizzamaker. The restaurant uses imported Italian flour and a 72-hour dough fermentation process, which has drawn strong community support.
Navarre Hospitality Group Vice President Matthew Soutra explained the expansion: "We felt really strongly that we had a good concept when we fleshed out exactly what Amici would become. But the response from the community was really even more than we had anticipated. One of the challenges is that the space there is very small, so we thought, 'Boy, if we could do this again, we would love to have more capacity to be able to do more, maybe offer private events.' So when the space in South Bend became available, we felt pretty strongly that Amici would be the right concept."
The new location will occupy the site of the recently closed Urban Outfitters in Eddy Street Commons. This move follows the closure of Blaze Pizza in the area and the arrival of new eateries like Cava and Bibibop, as reported by The Observer, the University of Notre Dame student newspaper.
Soutra noted the pricing strategy: "We think it's coming in at the right price point. You can have a really nice dinner without it being overly expensive, and we thought that would work well on Eddy Street Commons."
Construction will begin within the next couple of weeks, including installation of a HVAC unit, floor drains, and exhaust systems for the kitchen and prep area, which are absent in the current space. The design places the kitchen at the center to showcase the food preparation. "We're designing the restaurant with the kitchen at the heart of the space," Soutra said. "We feel really proud of the product that we're putting out and wanted to be able to show that for the guests."
South Bend residents will soon access Osteria Amici without traveling to Elkhart, with the opening planned for late fall or early winter of this year.