Southern Indiana restaurateur Matt McMahan has leased the property he ran as The Irish Exit, at 207 E. Main St. in New Albany, to Kyle and Ulrike Mullikin,  who will open an upscale Italian restaurant called Don Vito’s Italian Bistro with Annette Saco, formerly owner and chef at the now-closed La Gallo Rosso, as their head chef.

The cuisine at Don Vito’s will be fresh and rustic Italian, the ambiance that of “an Italian speakeasy,” according the Mullikin. There will be a full bar, and the menu will include sea bass, risotto, scallops and stuffed chicken breast.

The Mullikins already own another Italian restaurant about 30 minutes up Interstate 65 in Austin, Ind., called Casa Mia Ristorante Italiano.