Nadia and Jordan Victoria have a vision to modernize their family's restaurant brand in Rochester.
The cousins grew up watching their parents work at Victoria's Ristorante & Wine Bar, long considered one of Rochester's finest dining spots since it opened more than 25 years ago. The "restaurant kids" learned almost every facet of the business before they graduated from high school.
Now Nadia and Jordan are looking to put a twist on the family specialty by starting their own eatery.
"It was kind of always something that we talked about," Nadia said.
Sorellina's — sorellina means "little sister" in Italian — is set to open in southwest Rochester in less than two weeks with Nadia and Jordan in control. The bistro is meant to be a lighter version of Victoria's that caters to a younger population. That includes large-scale patio dining, fun cocktails at the bar and more varieties of pizza, with a pizza oven and serving area as a focal point inside the restaurant.
"We foresee it being kind of a big thing with our pizzas," Jordan said.
The pair returned to Rochester several years ago after going away to college — St. Mary's University for Jordan and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee for Nadia. For Nadia, growing up at Victoria's proved to be a far better learning experience than business classes, she said.
Nadia took to the business side, dealing with supply issues and finances, while Jordan found a liking for the kitchen. That's the split they agreed to as co-owners of Sorellina's after looking at the former Associated Bank-First Federal property just south of Apache Mall, at 1155 16th St. SW.
