Pazzi Ristorante Italiano, formerly Farina Alto, brings ‘something crazy good’ to Northeast Heights

An Albuquerque staple is back, but it looks a little — or a lot — different.

After weeks of renovations, the Italian eatery formerly known as Farina Alto Pizzeria & Wine Bar made its return to the local restaurant scene, but with some renovations, a largely revamped menu and a new name.

The restaurant, dubbed Pazzi Ristorante Italiano, opened at 10721 Montgomery NE in mid-January.

“I wouldn’t call it a rebrand; it’s a completely different restaurant with some little bitty bones left over,” said Lee Caperton, co-owner of Cantina Hospitality Group, the restaurant’s owner. “We just felt like Albuquerque needed another concept that really focused on finer food, scratch products and an experience that made you feel warm and hospitable.”

Cantina Hospitality Group owns and operates many of New Mexico’s well-known restaurant brands, including Tamashi, Sushi King, Poki Poki Cevicheria, Brekki Brekki and Cantina Craftworks.

The group is led by husband and wife Lee and Kelly Caperton, who have each been involved in restaurants for years and are physicians by trade. They created Caperton Fertility Institute, one of the region’s largest fertility centers, in 2016.

Farina, created by restaurateurs Pat and Terry Keene, had been in business for several years when Cantina Hospitality acquired the Northeast Heights location in April 2025. The Keenes still own Farina Pizzeria & Wine Bar at 510 Central SE in Downtown Albuquerque.

After nearly six months of ownership, the group announced it would close Farina Alto for renovations and would reopen with the “same spirit of quality” but with new energy and “something crazy good,” an October social media post said.

“I think what the Keenes did a long time ago was very special here, and we kind of made the 2026 version of that,” Lee Caperton said.

While the configuration of the restaurant is the same, the restaurant group renovated both of the restaurant’s bathrooms, added booth seating, changed the interior lighting, updated the bar and gave the space a splash of new paint. The project cost the group a “few million dollars,” Lee Caperton said.

“Everything is just new and fresh, and a little bit more modern,” Kelly Caperton said.

The menu also received a major refresh, now featuring aged steaks, seared scallops with green chile risotto, custom pastas and sauces, and pizzas. The pizza dough is about the only ingredient that Pazzi’s menu kept from Farina Alto, Lee Caperton said. He added that everything on the menu, including the desserts, is made from scratch.

“(Farina Alto) was a staple in the Northeast Heights, and we wanted to continue that but offer some other options and elevate that experience,” Kelly Caperton said. “You can come and be casual and have a pizza and salads, but if you want to stay for a really great steak, fun bottle of wine and an experience that lasts a few hours, you have the ability to do that as well.”

Lee Caperton described the community’s response to Pazzi as “phenomenal.”

You may be wondering: Why Pazzi, which is Italian for “crazy” or “mad?”

Because you have to be crazy to enter the restaurant business and stay in it, the Capertons said.

“We both grew up in the restaurant space,” Lee Caperton said, “and neither one of us probably would have been able to make it through college or medical school without having that as a background, so it’s just part of our desire to give back to the community.”

Kylie Garcia covers retail and real estate for the Journal. You can reach her at kgarcia@abqjournal.com.