An Italian eatery from Seattle that brands itself as “the official restaurant of Italian food snobs” is expanding to Dallas with its first restaurant outside of Washington state. Due’ Cucina will open in east Dallas in the local favorite Lakewood Shopping Center at 1900 Abrams Rd. #1900, taking over the space from Unleavened Fresh Kitchen, which closed in 2022.

Due’ Cucina is a fast-casual concept from two native Italians: CEO Davide Macchi and head chef Filippo Fiori, high-school friends from Tuscany with experience around the globe. Fiori, who has a PhD in engineering, has held culinary positions in Italy and China; and Macchi has worked in a variety of roles in the tech industry in Italy, Australia, and the U.S.

They conceived the company in Sydney, Australia, when Fiori visited Macchi and the two couldn’t find any Italian lunch options that felt like home at a manageable price point. It was a trend they had noticed throughout their travels.

“We really couldn’t find any affordable, real Italian places where you can get a quick lunch,” Macchi says. “So many places have beautiful multicultural food available, but there’s never any casual, authentic Italian options. To get authentic Italian food, you have to go for dinner, spend a few hours sitting down, and pay at least $50 each.”

The two ended up moving to the U.S. to launch the company, and chose Seattle because it fit their price point and felt like the right place to lay down roots and start families. At the time, Seattle was growing quickly, and they wanted to grow with it.

“We had the California dream, but we couldn't afford the California dream,” Fiori says.

Now, Due’ Cucina has four restaurants in and around Seattle. They say they explored new locations around the country for expansion but ultimately chose Dallas for similar reasons that they originally chose Seattle — it has a lot of business development, a large population of families, and a diverse culinary scene that still has room for growth.

The restaurant serves a variety of Italian dishes at a $10-15 price point, and they make their pasta in-house daily.

Diners can choose from a menu of sauces such as cacio e pepe, bolognese, carbonara, and pomodoro, and pair it with one of their rotating pasta shapes.

Other specials include eggplant parmesan, lasagna alla bolognese, and ricotta-spinach ravioli.

Macchi describes the menu as “simple and affordable,” but he admits there’s a level of snobbery involved in the quality of their food.

“I love Italian-American food, but we’re Italian snobs in the sense that we take pride in having authentic recipes,” he says. “Italian people, especially expats, are generally snobs, and we’re their official restaurant.”

Although the Dallas food menu will closely resemble the Seattle locations, they plan to expand the cocktail menu significantly — currently, they only offer negronis. They also serve beer and wine.

The Dallas space will seat nearly 60 diners, with 24 seats on an outdoor patio. Construction commenced on April 18, and Macchi and Fiori plan to have it open in July.