Viaggio Opens in Orrville, Bringing Handcrafted Pasta and Family Roots

Matthew Babyak planted Viaggio in Orrville with more than a restaurant plan. The Wadsworth native opened the Italian restaurant and pub to be closer to family, giving the new spot at 219 Hostetler Road a personal foundation that fits the town’s close-knit dining scene.

Babyak had been looking around Northeast Ohio to expand his pizza operation, which is based out of Ithaca, New York, when the former Orrville Sports Pub became available. He moved quickly on the location and put down roots in a city of 8,452 residents, a scale where a polished new Italian restaurant can change the rhythm of dinner, lunch and takeout all at once. “I love Orrville, I love this part of Northeast Ohio,” Babyak said.

Viaggio Italian Restaurant & Pub opened in April 2026 with a menu built around handcrafted pasta, pizza, cocktails, happy hour, private event space, catering and online ordering for dine-in or takeout. That range makes the business more than a standard dinner stop. The kitchen runs Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., while the bar keeps longer hours, staying open Tuesday through Thursday until 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday until midnight and Sunday until 9 p.m. It is closed Mondays.

For pasta readers, the biggest draw is the noodle program itself. Viaggio’s menu says its pastas are made with durum wheat, while its Neapolitan-style pizzas are made with sourdough and 100% Italian ingredients. That kind of specificity matters in a market where scratch-made details often separate a memorable Italian room from a generic pub menu. The kitchen’s handcrafted approach gives Orrville a clearer pasta identity, one built around the kind of house-made execution that invites repeat visits.

The building also brings continuity as well as change. The address had previously housed Orrville Sports Pub, which opened there in 2024, so Viaggio stepped into a location that already had a dining-room presence in town. With private events, catering and takeout layered onto full-service dining, Babyak’s new place is positioned to serve date nights, family meals and celebrations under one roof. In a small city that rarely gets a new Italian opening with this much range, Viaggio arrived as both a neighborhood restaurant and a hometown story.