The Italian restaurant quietly opened three months ago in the concourse of a Midtown Manhattan skyscraper. The look and feel isn't much different from any West 52nd Street lunch spot—a cafeteria-style counter, rustic dining room, meals ready in a few minutes.

What stands out is the restaurant's name: Barilla. It is the first outpost of a 138-year-old, multibillion-dollar company best known for its blue boxes of low-price, dried pasta.

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