In 1978, Albanian-born Bruno Selimaj (pronounced cell-ear-my) opened a luxurious northern Italian restaurant, Bruno’s, on East 58th Street between Second and Third avenues. It later blossomed into one of the city’s Italian dining stars and was one of a dozen pricey Italian restaurants located on the block, which throughout the 1980s and 1990s, was often referred to as Italian Row. In effect, the street for many years was a chic, upscale version of Little Italy.

But times have changed. Surging rental costs, the trend toward more casual dining attire (minus suits and ties), the increasing unwillingness of many younger customers to shell out $75 to $100 a person for dinner, and a flood of new lower-priced Italian rivals have taken their toll on Italian Row. As a result, that once-impressive string of 12 Italian delights is now down to three, the other two being widely acclaimed Felidia and Bar Vetro (a lower-priced replacement for the former Vivilo, with an Italian takeout next store).

Responding to the changing environment, Bruno’s, a number of whose customers in its earlier years were conspicuous by their tough looks and obvious bulges in their hip and breast pockets, is about to undergo a dramatic operational change by shifting from upscale to less costly family-style eating featuring huge platters of chicken, veal, and pasta for two, three, or more people. In the process, Bruno’s current average dinner check, now running about $70 a person, will be scaled down to about $35 a customer, including drinks. Importantly, Mr. Selimaj tells me, “We’ll offer family-style the same quality food, service, and ambience that we’ve offered the upscale crowd the past 27 years.”

The change, set to take place in the next few weeks, will result in the staff of the two-level restaurant – which can seat about 220 – doubling to 40 persons from about 20. Aside from food, diners will also be offered live music in the form of two strolling accordion players.

Mr. Selimaj – who at 53 is an immaculately attired, style-conscious, strapping 6-footer who dresses better than most of his customers – is hopeful his new strategy will revitalize the business, which, he observes, is slowing in almost all the city’s Italian restaurants of same caliber. Likewise, his goal is to restore the restaurant’s annual sales to their former 1997-1998 high of about $3 million. Present yearly sales are running at about $2 million.

Clearly, the new strategy is not without serious risk. Whether longtime customers, who include the likes of Hillary Clinton, Jason Giambi, Rudy Giuliani, Robert De Niro, Mel Gibson, and a former U.N. ambassador, Richard Holbrooke, are ready to dine family-style at Bruno’s is anybody’s guess. Mr. Selimaj acknowledges that some fellow restaurateurs question his new concept, doubting whether residents in the restaurant’s upper-income area would be receptive to family-style dining.

Mr. Seilmaj, though, thinks he is on the right track. For starters, he has canvassed the neighborhood, spoken to a number of doormen, and finds his restaurant’s location, within a few blocks of Bloomingdale’s and Sutton Place, attracts a growing number of younger families. As for his regulars, who also include George Pataki, David Dinkins, Faye Dunaway, Joe Pesci, and Bob Dole, Mr. Selimaj is keeping his fingers crossed that some will come back with their families.

Whether Bruno’s new strategy succeeds remains to be seen. But clearly, it won’t be a snap, given the intense rivalry among Italian restaurants. Further, one captain at Felidia doubts Bruno’s new game plan will work, observing “you can’t change from a Saks 5th Avenue into a J.C. Penney overnight and expect the Saks customer to remain loyal.”

Owning Italian restaurants seems to run in Mr. Selimaj’s family. His younger brother, Nino, a popular restaurateur and a major success story, owns five of them in the city, two of which are family-style.

Indicative of the intense competition, an estimated 3,000 Italian dining spots, including pizza joints, are sprinkled throughout the city’s five boroughs. One prominent Italian restaurateur, Nicola Civetta, owner of Primavera, an upscale East Side attraction for the city’s who’s who, figures 10% to 20% of the city’s Italian restaurants will be forced to close their doors before the end of the year. And even Primavera is feeling the pinch. “Survival is getting much more difficult,” Mr. Civetta said. “This business is not what it used to be. Many Italian restaurants are barely hanging on.”