After almost 25 years of white-tablecloth, pasta-heavy restaurants, Bravo Brio Restaurant Group is lightening up. Columbus-based Bravo Brio is experimenting with an updated concept called Coastal Bar and Kitchen. The concept focuses less on heavy Italian staples such as lasagna — though you’ll still find it on the menu — and more on smaller plates, shareable appetizers and lighter fare. Gone are the white tablecloths and window curtains. Diners will find bigger bars and brighter colors in the generally smaller restaurants.

The first opened in the Los Angeles suburb of Florence, California, last year, and the company has since remodeled a store in Charlotte, North Carolina, and opened one in Akron with the new look and menu this week. Two more are to open this summer: one in Cleveland and the other in Sarasota, Florida. “We really felt like the brands needed to evolve,” said Brian O’Malley, CEO at Bravo Brio, “and after we opened the one in California, we felt like maybe we should have done this a long time ago.”