A Dupont Circle restaurant is opening its second location in downtown Wilmington, according to an announcement Tuesday.

The owner of Floriana Restaurant of Washington, D.C., and its chef plan to bring the eatery's Northern Italian fare to 2 Market St., formerly the home of Roy's Riverboat Landing and then Marsello's. The Floriana eatery is expected to open early next year.

"We were looking at several different locations, several different cities, and Wilmington just really struck us as a place that's already great but just really ready to take off," said chef Daniel Hlusak, who moved to the Port City's South Front District with his wife, Mandy Lee Hlusak, recently.

"It's got a beautiful downtown, that beautiful riverfront, all that growth it's experiencing right now," Daniel Hlusak added.

Floriana, named for founder Floriana Nestore, is an independently owned Italian eatery serving dishes made with seasonal ingredients sourced from local producers, according to a news release. 

"They pride themselves on their menu, service and passion for food. Floriana Restaurant was voted into the Top 10 Most Romantic Restaurants in DC for 2015," the release stated.

The owner is Jamie Branda who along with Hlusak "fell in love with the area and are excited about being a part of the growth and energy of historic downtown Wilmington," according to the release.

"After meeting Jamie and Daniel, I was confident that these guys would be an amazing asset to our downtown market. I couldn't imagine anyone more qualified to take this iconic property successfully into the next 20 years or more," stated Terry Espy, president of MoMentum Companies, in the release.
 
Espy, along with broker Todd Toconis from Town & Country Real Estate, one of the owners, worked to get Floriana into its new Wilmington home. The location has waterfront views and a newly renovated exterior. 
 
Floriana opened in Washington, D.C., in 1979, the release stated.

"Jamie Branda has owned it for the last 14 years and is ready to expand with a second location here in Wilmington," according to the release.