Raised by a single dad in a mostly Italian neighborhood in New Jersey, Brad Spence knew from the time he was 5 years old he wanted to be a chef. “At that time, not a lot of young boys wanted to cook,” Spence said. “And I’m not Italian, but when I went out to eat as a kid, it was Italian. I grew up in that environment, and because of the food, because they really celebrated food, I think I fell in love with cooking.”

Spence is the executive chef of Philadelphia-based Vetri Family of Restaurants, which opened its first Connecticut location in Westport last week. The Roman trattoria, Amis, opened in conjunction with Anthropologie at the Bedford Square Development downtown, marking the second location of the concept, which includes a menu of fresh and seasonally driven small plates, handcrafted pastas, local seafood and antipasti. Urban Outfitters owns Anthropologie and the Vetri group.