New Panza's restaurant opening on Broadway in Saratoga Springs

PHOTOGRAPHER: Peter R. Barber

The new Panza's Broadway Saratoga is shown Tuesday.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The new incarnation of a landmark Italian restaurant will cut the ribbon in Saratoga Springs on Friday.

Panza’s Broadway Saratoga occupies the renovated building at 129 S. Broadway. The distinctive space originally was home to the Trade Winds restaurant, a culinary landmark in its day; more recently it was home to another eatery, before going vacant and beginning to deteriorate.

Brothers Tony and Michael Panza brought on builder Chris Marchand to restore the building. The pair are the fourth generation of their family in the business in 81 years.

Most recently, the family ran the well-known Panza’s Restaurant on Saratoga Lake in Stillwater, which is now closed. The new restaurant will feature favorites from the Panza’s menu as well as new, lighter items.

Entertainment is a major component of the new restaurant, with music Fridays and Saturdays at first, then daily during racing season this summer.

Chef/owner Tony Panza said the plan is to offer multiple options to guests. “You can come enjoy full dinner in our unique, glass-enclosed dining room, have a drink and light bite in the intimate Grotto Bar or stop by with friends to enjoy your favorite musical acts with a beverage in our Upper Level Lounge,” he said in a news release.

The Panzas updated the unique layout and architecture with new furniture and decor in the public areas but left the kitchen layout largely as it was, aside from new cooking appliances and gadgets — it totaled 3,000 square feet and was very well designed, so it needed little in the way of redesign.

Behind the scenes, modern electronic technology takes WiFi signals, lighting and security to a level well beyond the original issue.

Michael Panza noted that a 70-space lot will make Panza’s a rarity: A downtown Saratoga Springs restaurant with on-site parking.