Gioia's The Red Sauce Joint Pop-Up Returns with New Chef Series This Weekend

A Nostalgic Return with a Twist

New Haven's seasonal pop-up restaurant, The Red Sauce Joint by Gioia, is back this week. It will run through April 26 on Gioia's fully enclosed, heated rooftop above Wooster Street. This year’s activation brings back the nostalgic Italian American restaurant vibe that fans loved last year. Think red-and-white-checked tablecloths and wicker-wrapped Chianti bottles, paired with a menu featuring classic dishes like baked rigatoni in vodka sauce and marsala short rib.

In addition to the return of the beloved pop-up, there’s an exciting new event series called Sunday Sauce with Friends. This monthly event will take place on one Sunday night each month on the rooftop. For each event, a guest chef will join the Gioia team for a single night, creating an intimate family-style dinner party for up to 44 guests. The dinners will feature three savory courses, dessert, and drink pairings.

This collaborative series follows Gioia's recent fundraising dinner in partnership with the Connecticut Restaurant Association to benefit the Connecticut Hospitality Education Foundation. That event featured five Connecticut-based guest chefs and shows the restaurant’s ongoing commitment to collaboration. Tim Cabral, co-owner of Gioia, shared his thoughts: “My partner Avi and I have always loved working with friends in the industry, whether welcoming them into our house or traveling to cook in theirs. We're fortunate to have incredible friends locally and around the world, and these collaborations have given us the chance to travel, learn and open our doors to people we truly admire.”

A Lineup of Talented Chefs

The first event in the Sunday Sauce with Friends series will take place on January 18. It features Reneé Touponce, executive chef and partner at Mystic's Oyster Club and The Port of Call, and a James Beard Award finalist for both Best Chef Northeast (2023) and Outstanding Chef (2024). Alongside her Port of Call chef de cuisine, Corey Lein, Touponce will bring her culinary expertise to the rooftop.

Gioia chef and co-owner Avi Szapiro teased the menu, saying guests can expect dishes like a braised meatball Caesar salad, stuffed artichoke, and—highlighting Touponce's lauded approach to seafood preservation—cured fluke with clams. Touponce added that the Sunday Sauce with Friends theme resonated with her team. “At Port of Call, we host a ‘Secret Sauce Night’ led by (Lein), so the concept feels completely aligned. It's a great opportunity for Corey to share his love of pasta and sauce with a new community.” She promised, “Lots of sauce, plenty of cheese, dry-aged fish, house-made sausages and more. The kinds of dishes meant for sharing, lingering and going back for seconds.”

Exploring More Culinary Connections

On February 22, Dan Kardos, the chef and owner of Milford's Café Melba, will showcase his skills. Then, on March 22, Joel Gargano, chef and co-owner of Grano Arso in Chester, will take the stage. Gargano said it was easy for him to agree to partner with Gioia, as he and Lani Gargano, his wife and co-owner, frequently dine there on their days off. “Gioia is our favorite restaurant in New Haven,” he said. The event will give him the perfect opportunity to dust off his mom's Sunday recipes, he said. “Italian American–style cooking has a specific place in my heart.”

The final dinner of the series will be held on April 26 and feature Andy Kitko, the Connecticut-born executive chef of Vancouver's award-winning Toptable Group. Kitko oversees two New York City restaurants: seafood-focused Oceans and Italian-inspired Carlotto.

A Shared History and Friendship

A common thread among the guest chefs is their connection to Cabral, who also co-owns New Haven cocktail bar Ordinary. He and Touponce met most recently at the taping of a podcast, but Gargano called him a “longtime friend and supporter of Grano Arso.” Both Kardos and Kitko have known Cabral and worked with him in restaurants since high school.

“In a way, I owe my career to Tim,” said Kitko. “He got me my first restaurant job as a dishwasher at the Milford Yacht Club.” From there, Kitko went on to train professionally and work at top restaurants across the country, including The Dining Room at San Francisco's Ritz-Carlton Hotel and the Michelin-starred Café Boulud. Of making his New Haven culinary debut and the excitement of working together again with Cabral after almost 30 years, Kitko said, “This is a full circle moment for me.”

A Celebration of Food and Friendship

“It will be fun, nostalgic, and delicious,” Cabral agreed. “More than anything, I'm excited to spend time cooking and hanging out with friends - that's what this series is really about.”

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