A slice of New York-style Italian dining has made its way to downtown Canton. The historic district this weekend welcomed Fabiano's Pizzeria as its newest dining establishment.

Owner Jeff Merback said downtown Canton and its historic architecture made the area the perfect place to open his third Fabiano's restaurant.

He's previously opened Fabiano's in Newnan and Douglasville, both of which have historic downtown districts.

"I want to try to (help) retain the integrity of the historic architecture," he said.

The two-story restaurant, housed in the former Cafe 190 space at 190 E. Main St. in Canton, has a family-friendly pizzeria on the bottom floor and will have a tavern upstairs for adults 21 and older.

"The kids can run around and have fun, and the parents can relax," Merback said about the bottom floor.

The tavern, which will open soon, features a big-screen TV and space for patrons to relax, have a drink and watch sporting events, said Joe Smyth of Holly Springs, the restaurant's general manager.

Fabiano's also will have full bars upstairs and downstairs once the licensing process is completed.

The hours of operation are from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Mondays through Saturdays. The restaurant eventually will employee between 20 and 30 part- and full-time employees, Smyth added.

The restauranteurs said their pizza is different from the "big three" chains that Merback said often stress their prices over their quality.

"You start to shortchange your ingredients," he said of companies that offer cheap and fast pizza, adding Fabiano's will not deliver, but does offer carry-out orders.

Merback said the restaurant does not use pre-made entrees, but rather makes all of its food on the premises with high-quality ingredients. Everything from the dough to the sauce is made fresh daily, he said.

Some of the restaurant's popular pizzas include a "mighty meaty" variety with sausage, pepperoni, ground beef, ham and bacon; and a supreme pizza, which features pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, onions and green bell peppers.

Customers also can create their own pizzas with a range of toppings available. Prices rage from a $2 "monster" slice of cheese pizza to a $29.50 "mighty meaty," 20-inch pizza.

"It can easily feed eight hungry people," Merback said of the 20-inch pizza.

Pasta dishes include the classic spaghetti and meatballs, chicken parmesan, baked eggplant parmesan, stuffed shells and meat lasagna with marinara sauce.

Along with New York-style pizza, staples of the restaurant are "authentic" calzones and strombolis, pasta, burgers, wings, a full-line salads and desserts.

Merback said the restaurant business "is in his blood."

His grandfather, Alfred Fabiano, for whom the restaurant is named, ran the original Fabiano's Pizzeria in West Hollywood, Calif. from 1954 to 1974.

Merback said he worked in various restaurants as a college student at Georgia Tech. In 1992 at 24 years old, he opened his first restaurant, The Highlander in Midtown Atlanta, which still is in business.

Along with his three Fabiano's establishments, with business partners he also owns The Alamo in Newnan and The Pointe in Conyers. Merback, 42, lives in DeKalb County with his wife, Laura.

Merback said he hopes to employ the same model Zach Kell, owner of Goin' Coastal and Downtown Kitchen, uses for his restaurants in downtown Canton - serving high-quality food to build his customer base.

Both Merback and Smyth said Fabiano's will be a great addition to downtown Canton's dining scene and to the city as a whole.

"There's no other place like it in downtown Canton," Smyth added. "We're excited to be here."