A CHRISTMAS SPECIAL — Giuseppe DiGristina, owner and chef of Pastaio Trattoria Italiana, and his wife, Vincenza, stand at the pop-up bar where the Wintersville restaurant will be serving holiday cocktails and hors d’oevres each weekend in December. There will be rawings for gift baskets, with a portion of proceeds going to children services provided by the Urban Mission. -- Warren Scott

WINTERSVILLE — Visitors to Pastaio Trattoria Italiana during four weekends this month will have an opportunity to support a local charity while enjoying a new Christmas-themed feature.

Owner and chef Giuseppe DiGristina has established a pop-up bar, decorated for the holidays, in the heated shelter behind the eatery at 725 Main St., and a Jingle ‘n Mingle event will be held there beginning at 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday and Dec.12-14, 19-21 and 27-28.

Visitors to the bar, which has its own parking area behind the restaurant, can partake of holiday cocktails and assorted hors d’ouevres, enjoy live and recorded music and the company of others and enter drawings for an assortment of gift baskets.

DiGristina has partnered with local businesses to offer the baskets, which will help raise funds for children’s services provided by the Urban Mission.

Pop-up bars are bars that adopt a certain theme for a limited time and have been very popular in large cities, and DiGristina throught one would be popular in the Ohio Valley.

“We wanted to bring this holiday pop-up experience to the Ohio Valley so that our residents can emjoy this unique concept,” he said, adding, “With the creation of Jingle ‘n Mingle our community can come together to celebrate the holidays in a whimsical environment. And, we hope this is the first of many years to come.”

DiGristina noted the pop-up’s visitors will be able to choose from several filling appetizers.

They include polpetti di carne, which are home-made meatballs of veal, pork and beef served with tomato sauce; bruschetta al pomodoro (grilled Tuscan bread topped with chopped tomatoes and seasoning); fritto misto dimare (fried calamari and shrimp); Sicilian arancini (fried balls of rice, sweet peas and home-made bolognese), antipasto salads, fried zucchini and mozzarella cigars.

DiGristina said patrons of the restaurant above the pop-up may continue to choose from a wide selection of entrees.

He noted the restaurant has space and dates available for private parties and is selling tickets for its New Year’s Eve celebration, for which transportation to and from the event is available.

Since DiGristina opened the restaurant three and a half years ago, it’s undergone a slight name change with ‘trattoria” replacing ‘cucina.’

He said in Italy, trattorie are eateries found in smaller towns and known for their cozy atmosphere, and the name seemed more suited for his establishment.

‘Pastaio’ is Italian for pasta-maker.

DiGristina, who hails from Palermo in the Sicily region of Italy, said he takes pride in offering authentic Italian food made with fresh ingredients.