Fortuna Cucina Italiana brings housemade pasta and coastal Italian flair to Wilmington

Fortuna Cucina Italiana is set to open May 13 at 414 Arboretum Dr. #130, bringing Wilmington a new Italian room built around housemade pasta, seasonal seafood and a coastal style that leans brighter and more polished than the usual red-sauce formula. The concept, from Giorgios Hospitality Group, is positioning pasta as the main attraction, with bucatini fra diavolo topped with Maine lobster and Calabrian chili butter among the menu’s signature draws.

The restaurant is opening in the former Blue Surf Arboretum West space, which closed at the end of 2024, giving the project an immediate sense of place in a familiar dining corridor. Giorgios Bakatsias, who leads the hospitality group, has said he was excited to plan a “world class Italian restaurant” for Wilmington and called the site a beautiful space. His company says it operates 18 restaurants and continues to lean on fresh, locally sourced ingredients across its portfolio.

Fortuna’s menu is anchored by a coastal Italian identity that shows up in both the raw bar-leaning starters and the pasta lineup. Red snapper carpaccio and burrata di Puglia with Lady Edison prosciutto push the kitchen toward a lighter, more ingredient-driven approach, while flounder a la Francese keeps one foot planted in classic Italian American comfort. Chris Lewnes, the executive chef and partner, brings a pedigree that blends Brooklyn roots, Italian American heritage and formal training from the Institute of Culinary Education, along with work under Markus Glocker at Bâtard. He previously led the kitchen at Sartiano’s in New York.

That background matters because Fortuna is not just another neighborhood Italian opening. It is trying to be a destination for diners who want handmade pasta and seafood on the same table, in a room that looks as if it was pulled from the Amalfi Coast. The design calls for a weathered cedar shake exterior, a hand-painted lemon branch mural, woven rattan lighting and patio seating meant to make the whole space feel sunlit and relaxed.

Bakatsias already has a visible Wilmington footprint through Kipos Hellenic Cuisine, G Prime and Tomiko-San, and Fortuna extends that reach with a concept aimed squarely at spring and summer dining. The restaurant’s published hours show dinner service Monday and Tuesday from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. Its website describes it as “a welcoming, contemporary modern Italian restaurant featuring homemade pasta” in Wilmington, and that is exactly the promise now headed for Arboretum Drive.