St. Paul’s Italian food scene will grow one size larger next month: Longtime East Metro favorite Andiamo Italian Ristorante is headed our way.

The restaurant, which has locations in Eagan and Woodbury, plans to open a 3rd spot on Snelling and Ashland avenues, where Buffalo Wild Wings was once. They’ll be up and running in January, the restaurant announced on social media.

Andiamo originally opened almost exactly 13 years ago in Eagan — during its first week, then-Pioneer Press critic Kathie Jenkins praised the food as “irresistible” — and launched its Woodbury location in 2020.

The restaurants are owned by chef Ramon Ruiz, who had previously spent over a decade and a half at Bucca di Beppo in St. Paul.

For Ruiz, the name Andiamo is a reminder to maintain moving forward, he said when the Eagan location opened in 2011.

“It means, ‘Let’s go, Let’s go,’” he said. “”It injects energy.”

Andiamo Italian Ristorante: Opening January 2024 at 80 N. Snelling Ave.; andiamomn.com