A veteran Essex bar will soon transform into a restaurant serving Italian-American cuisine. The building that once housed Schiesser's Idle Hour will become Buon Appetito, a sit-down restaurant serving classic dishes like pizza, shrimp scampi and chicken Marsala.

Restaurateur Mauro Peralta, who also owns Siesta's Banquet Hall in Dundalk, is working to open the eatery with his two adult children, Ronald and Dharwin Peralta, later this year.