The owner of a popular burger joint in Central Texas is now aiming to make Italian American comfort food just as approachable. JewBoy Burgers owner Mo Pittle recently opened a new spot called Panciuto in Austin’s Hyde Park neighborhood.
The concept for Panciuto, which Pittle named after the Spanish word for “panzon” in Italian, is an American twist on family-size, hearty dishes like pasta, hoagies and more. Pittle told MySA he wanted to create a welcoming space where people can come hungry and leave happy in a part of town he says still feels like old Austin.
“This neighborhood has continued to become desirable place. But it’s still a neighborhood, and I still want to make sure that things are reasonable,” Pittle said. “I like the fact that with all the change in Austin, this neighborhood hasn’t changed a whole lot. You’re going to find a lot of the same businesses, a lot of the same people living here, and so we wanted something that felt somewhat timeless.”
Panciuto is located in a former Italian restaurant, Umarell, where Pittle was a majority partner and investor. Umarell started in February, but changed to Panciuto last week. Pittle explained in a statement he made a difficult business decision to close the concept, but wanted to continue offering Italian food to the community in his own way, leaning into the casual vibes of other Austin eateries he’s known for such as JewBoy Burgers, JewBoy Sliders and JewBoy Cantina…