The Wakim family is selling Aldar Bistro, ending a 34-year run at 281 Montgomery Ave. in Bala Cynwyd and a 46-year stretch operating restaurants at the same address.

Two couples with roots in Calabria, Italy, plan to transform the Lebanese bistro into a white-tablecloth Southern Italian restaurant called Bruzi, with a targeted opening in late October or November, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Joseph Wakim, who runs Aldar with siblings Michel, George and Fadia, told the Inquirer he turned down roughly 10 potential buyers over the past five years before choosing Luciano and Tania Spensierato and Marco Mondello and Anna Bellizzi.

"We all grow older, and it's time to step aside," Wakim said. "Over the past five years, we probably had 10 suitors, and I said, 'No, thank you.'"

He said the two couples were the right families to take over the space. The Wakim family opened an Italian restaurant called Allegresse at the same location in 1980 before converting it to Aldar Bistro. They also own Murray's Deli next door and Evviva, a restaurant and events venue in Narberth.

The sale hinges on a liquor license transfer that Wakim expects to be approved in September. Aldar Bistro will remain open until then. After the transfer, the new owners plan about two months of renovations.

Luciano Spensierato has tended bar at Gran Caffè L'Aquila, the Center City Italian restaurant at 1716 Chestnut St. with a Wine Spectator Award-winning wine program, since 2015. Mondello joined the same restaurant as a bartender in 2016 and is an Italian-trained sommelier. Tania Spensierato has a restaurant background but currently works in retail. Bellizzi is a scientist at Temple University.

The space fit their criteria. Tania Spensierato told the Inquirer the location checked every box they wanted: Main Line setting, tall ceilings, an existing liquor license and a spacious kitchen. She said Bala Cynwyd and Lower Merion matched the community feel the partners were seeking.

Bruzi's menu will center on house-made pastas and traditional Calabrian dishes, including black boar prosciutto, fusilli with slow-cooked meat sauce, baked lamb with tomatoes, olives and roasted peppers, and grilled tuna with arugula. Mondello plans to open with about 100 Italian wines, and Luciano Spensierato's cocktail program will draw on his 35 years behind the bar.

Interior designer Glynis Tart of Verden Interior Design will give the dining room a modern Mediterranean look with blue-and-gold accents inspired by the Calabrian flag, olive trees and other greenery. A small retail section will sell imported Italian products. The partners have hired an Italian-born chef currently working in Florida but declined to name him publicly.