NASHUA – Villa Banca Cafe and Grill, an Italian restaurant that was a Nashua downtown mainstay for nearly two decades, will be replaced this spring by … an Italian restaurant that has been a mainstay in Manchester and Laconia since the 1990s.

Fratello’s Italian Grill hopes to open the doors of the former Nashua Trust Bank building at the corner of Main and East Pearl streets this spring, according to Keith Forde, manager of the eatery’s Manchester location.

“That is true. The target date is late May, early June,” he said. “The owners were on site today on Main Street.”

Forde didn’t have any more information about the owners’ plans for the high-profile spot near two other Nashua favorites, Martha’s Exchange and MT’s Local, and referred questions to the restaurant’s owners, the McDonough family. Chris, Mark and Mike McDonough weren’t immediately available for comment.

The brothers opened the first Fratello’s restaurant in the vacant Indian Head building in Laconia in 1992 and the second location on Commercial Street in Manchester in 1997, according to the company’s website.

That’s the same year Tim Poplar, George Sylvester and Len
Williams opened Villa Banca in Nashua, serving classic and contemporary Italian cuisine.

The Nashua restaurant closed abruptly in December, part of a series of closings of high-profile restaurants and other businesses in Nashua’s downtown. The only communication about the closure was posted on the restaurant’s Facebook page.

“It with great sadness that after 18 years of being part of the great community of Nashua, Villa Banca has closed its doors. It’s never easy to say goodbye, but while this was a difficult decision, we are filled with gratitude for the time we spent together, and to all of you for allowing us to be part of your lives and your celebrations.”

The closure came on the heels of the shuttering of Aubuchon Hardware in September after 78 years on Main Street, and the announcement that Ikebana Flowers planned to close by year’s end.

That’s in addition to more than half a dozen businesses that have shut down or moved out of the downtown in recent years, including Saffron Bistro and Cooking Matters, a gourmet food retail store and soup-and-sandwich eatery, in 2013. Studio 99, one of downtown Nashua’s core venues for live music, shuttered in March 2013, followed five months later by McKenzie’s, a Main Street restaurant and lounge that was also a popular venue for local bands.

In January, upscale restaurant Unum’s at the corner of East Pearl and Spring streets, just a block off Main Street, closed its doors. Owner Sergio Metes blamed the closure on what he called downtown’s deteriorating atmosphere.

“Business is down. Too many people don’t want to come downtown anymore,” Metes said. “They don’t feel safe.”

But other business owners have chosen to invest – or reinvest – in downtown, as has the city with a multimillion-dollar, controversial sidewalk replacement project.

New additions to Main Street include Jaja Belle’s Pastry and Coffee Shop, which opened across from Martha’s Exchange in the spring. Mexican restaurant Agave Azul opened July at 94-96 Main St. in the former Cameraland space. Thai restaurant Giant of Siam moved to 90 Main from East Hollis in September.

The Riverwalk Cafe in Railroad Square on the north end of Main Street opened after a significant addition and renovation in late August, tripling its seating area. With the addition, owner Steve Ruddock reinvented the cafe as a bar and music venue – although Riverwalk still serves its signature coffee, pastries and sandwiches. Ruddock was able to expand the space after neighboring business, Olga’s Bridal and Alterations, moved to Amherst Street in Nashua.

Fratello’s (the Italian word for “brother”) serves what it calls casual Italian-American food, including wood-fired, brick-oven pizzas, steak, and other Italian favorites such as carpaccio and pasta, according to the restaurant’s website.

The distinctive building in the middle of Nashua’s Main Street still has a number of the former bank’s original features, notably the door of the old vault. The restaurant is approximately 6,600 square feet.