Lock 50 owner Ed Russo plans to open a second restaurant in the Canal District in April. The new venture, Russo, is an Italian concept led by his nephew, Lock 50 Executive Chef Tim Russo. The new restaurant will be located at 65 Water St. in the former home of Canal Restaurant & Bar, a property that includes 20 parking spots and sits not far from Lock 50.

A number of people have told Ed Russo opening up a restaurant in such close proximity to Lock 50 is unwise, but he disagrees.

“We're going after a different demographic,” he said, adding, “You can’t undervalue the efficiencies that we will gain by being right here across the street with management infrastructure already in place.”

Last week, he bought up all of Durgin Park’s iconic cast iron tables after the centuries-old Faneuil Hall restaurant went out of business. The furniture will occupy a distinctive cave room, which will also play home to Russo’s new Italian wine cellar.

Ed Russo expects the lease to be signed by tomorrow, Wednesday, Feb. 20.

“It's ready to go,” he said. “It’s the same attorney for all of the paperwork, including our liquor license. My goal is to be open in six to eight weeks.”

Ed Russo is not just a restaurateur, he also president and CEO of LABEX of MA, a successful reconditioned laboratory equipment company. Aside from the obvious benefits of storage space (he has already purchased 70 percent of Russo’s future furnishings), he sees his broader business experience as an enormous asset.

“I understand the restaurant world is a labor of love. It's very difficult to make money in restaurants,” Ed Russo said. “However, Lock 50 has crossed the point where we're actually doing very well. Our businesses just in the past year has grown 50 percent. I think we’ve hit our stride and we’ve made the adjustments we need. That's why it's the right time for a second spot.”

Ed Russo credits his achievements in the restaurant industry with his ability to listen to Lock 50’s customers.

“Chefs are great at what they do,” he said. “But that doesn’t necessarily mean they are great at running businesses. Chefs listen to their passions.”

Ed Russo isn’t a chef, but when he cooks, he cooks Italian.

“Timmy was not 100 percent in favor of my plan at first,” Ed Russo said of his nephew, who is slated to be the executive chef of Russo. “It's because he learned and grew up on Italian cooking and doesn't feel like it would be a challenge. But I told him, his challenge is to make it better than anyone else can make it.”

Ed Russo believes his team can do justice to Worcester’s Italian legacy.

“A few years ago, I might have hesitated to open an Italian restaurant outside of Shrewsbury Street,” he said of the city’s historic restaurant row. “People understand that the Canal District is its own restaurant scene now. And we'll only continuing to grow.”

Russo, he said, will be approachable, family friendly, and wholesome.

“I would say it was my grandmother who taught me to cook,” Ed Russo recalled. “For Timmy, it was my dad, his grandfather, who taught him. When he was 5 years old, Timmy would actually go sit on the step stool beside the stove to cook with my father.”

The Russos grew up in side-by-side, three-family homes in Worcester.

Future guests can expect classic Italian dishes like Bucatini all'Amatriciana on the menu and an authentic Italian wine list.

“Cocktails are going to be very refined and limited,” said General Manager Tom Studer. “We want to feature wine. It's not just going to be Chiantis and Super Tuscans.”

Ed Russo’s vision for Water Street is a whole stretch of high-caliber restaurants.

“On the weekends,” he said. “we could close the street and put live music outside so people will be able to bounce back and forth. People think just by being in the Canal District, restaurants will be successful because of the Worcester Red Sox. I’m very excited for the ballpark, but as a restaurant, that’s simply not the case. You have to have a wider vision.”