You could forgive restaurateur Moe Gad if he had second thoughts about opening his latest venture, Villa Lulu. The decision to open the restaurant in a College Street space formerly occupied by the Samurai Japanese Restaurant was made before pandemic hit the state, sending a chill through the economy. But Gad, who in 2004 had bet on New Haven’s restaurant scene when he opened the Latin cuisine restaurant Pacifico, didn’t flinch in the face of adversity.

By the end of last year, Gad was determined to go ahead with Villa Lulu. “Once I saw that there was going to be a vaccine and that downtown was doing OK, I made the decision to move ahead with construction,” he said. Villa Lulu quietly opened in August and recently had its grand opening. Gad said his new venture has benefited from Yale University students returning to campus.