Giacomo's Appears to Be Expanding to Melrose

Giacomo's Ristorante, a small, consistently crowded spot in the North End, is very likely opening up a third branch in the city of Melrose.

An Eater tipster shared a couple photos of the "coming soon" sign taped to the window of the former Absolutely Fabulous. The Giacomo's Ristorante logo visible in the inset image is similar to the signage at its Hanover Street location and a second outpost in the South End.

The tipster also shared a blog post by Melrose Mayor Robert J. Dolan, indicating that a lease was being finalized in late June to "bring a high end Italian restaurant to the location previously occupied by Absolutely Fabulous."

Giacomo's serves traditional Italian dishes, like chicken or veal marsala with prosciutto and mushrooms; zuppa di pesce; fried calamari; and fettuccine, ziti, or ravioli with red sauce, pesto, or fra diavolo, and more.

There is consistently a line to get into the tiny restaurant at 355 Hanover St., but Giacomo's Columbus Ave. location takes reservations and is more expansive. A third location in Melrose could potentially help ease some of the traffic at the North End location, but maybe not, as waiting outside for an hour or more has become part of the Giacomo's experience.

Giacomo's opens at 4:30 p.m., so no one from the restaurant was available to comment early this afternoon.

Absolutely Fabulous is currently closed, but in the spring, it announced plans to move into a new location in Melrose Highlands later this summer. Its Facebook hasn't shared any progress updates recently, and both the restaurant's phone number and website are currently unavailable.

[Inset Photo: Giacomo's Ristorante coming soon to 454 Main St., Melrose. Image courtesy of an Eater Boston tipster]