Engineered Construction recently completed renovating a former seafood market into a sit-in/carry-out restaurant.

Novanta’s menu features 10-inch Neapolitan pizzas, a fresh mozzarella bar, paninis and salads.  Project Manager Jim Ladika and Aro Eberle Architects worked with owners Vincenzo Pugliese and Nick Mattioli to make their dream a reality.

The wood-burning pizza oven, which cooks pizzas in 90 (“novanta” in Italian) seconds, is the heart of the restaurant.  The construction schedule and restaurant layout revolved around the arrival of the oven, which came from Italy in part by boat.

The entire interior, except the floor, was demolished and prepped for the oven’s arrival.  Project Superintendent Steven Hubert relates, “The oven is so large that a window had to be removed to get it into the building. It was a monster!”  Upon arrival it was fixed in place, hand-mosaicked, and the restaurant was rebuilt around it in warm browns, reds and yellows.

Novanta is open for lunch and dinner seven days a week and has seting for 38 inside and several on the sunny sidewalk.  It is located in the retail center at 8452 Old Sauk Road.  For more information visit www.facebook.com/novantamadison.