Sorella Replaces Tuscan Kitchen in Burlington with Pasta-Forward Menu, Events

Sorella reopened on February 20 in Burlington, taking over the space long occupied by the town’s Tuscan Kitchen and positioning itself as a pasta-forward Italian outpost. Owner Joe Faro, whose operating group is Tuscan Brands, describes the new concept as “the cool younger sister” of the previous restaurant, and Boston.com included Sorella in its Feb. 26 roundup of notable Greater Boston openings, noting an opening menu that lists bolognese and a lobster gnocchi.

The Burlington location underwent a visible design refresh that Boston Magazine calls an “energized, contemporary look.” Renovations traded the site’s earlier yellow-stucco-and-stone appearance for a lighter, modernized interior, and the floorplan now includes a bigger bar and more room configured explicitly for private parties. Boston Magazine framed the rebrand as a move to reenergize a suburban mainstay after more than a decade in operation.

Menu positioning is firmly pasta-forward. Boston.com’s entry in the Feb. 26 roundup described several pasta dishes on the opening menu and specifically named bolognese and lobster gnocchi. Beyond those dishes, full menu details, pricing, and service hours were not listed in the reporting; the published coverage focuses on the concept and the featured pasta plates at launch.

Sorella’s arrival is part of a broader trajectory for Tuscan Brands. Boston Magazine traces the company’s roots to the opening of Tuscan Kitchen in Salem, New Hampshire, 16 years ago, and notes that the Burlington Tuscan Kitchen opened in 2014 as one of the original yellow-stucco-and-stone locations. Faro has since expanded the portfolio with a number of Italian food-related businesses across New Hampshire and Massachusetts, and Sorella is presented as the latest iteration of that growth strategy.

Inside the renovated dining room, images credited to photographer Rachel Leah Blumenthal show wooden floors, round and rectangular tables set with glassware and napkins, patterned cushioned chairs, hanging plants, warm ambient lighting from chandeliers and bulbs, and shelves with decorative vases and greenery used to divide the space. Boston Magazine suggests a retail-market-meets-restaurant vibe with the editorial line “Think: Eataly, with a New England accent,” and the copy emphasizes an increased focus on events and party bookings as a revenue and community strategy.

With the Burlington reopening and the publicity in Boston.com’s Feb. 26 roundup, Sorella marks a deliberate rebrand for Tuscan Brands in the suburbs: a lighter, more party-friendly room, a bigger bar, and a menu that leans into bolognese and lobster gnocchi as signature pasta plates.