Velleggia’s: A Little Italy legend reopens in Federal Hill, reconnects with its family roots

When Brendon Hudson first told his grandfather he would be opening another restaurant, he was met with a healthy dose of skepticism from Frank Velleggia Sr., who cautioned him not to move too quickly. Hudson and his partner had just opened Allora, a 20-seat Mt. Vernon restaurant serving Roman cuisine, in the summer of 2021. But then Hudson revealed the twist in his plan: The restaurant he was going to open — or in this case, reopen — was Velleggia’s, which his grandfather had inherited from Hudson’s great grandparents and run for nearly 50 years before selling it in 2005.