Just two months ago, David Greenberg, a restaurateur in Mexico, announced that he and a local executive chef planned to open Elements, a new restaurant in Gateway Center by the end of the summer.

Mr. Greenberg, who owned and operated restaurants in Cabo San Lucas for 20 years, and executive chef Justin Severino have worked with breathtaking speed -- at least in the restaurant business -- where eight weeks almost invariably turns into eight months.

They have recruited staff from some of Pittsburgh's finest restaurants, transformed the physical space that housed Palomino for eight years until it closed in May, and brainstormed menu ideas. For several weeks staff dressed in spotless kitchen whites have gathered inside and outside the unfinished space for planning and training sessions.

Mr. Severino had most recently worked at Eleven Contemporary Kitchen in the Strip District, so it's perhaps no surprise that a number of staff members decided to join him in his new venture, including Michelle LaValle-Denk, Eleven's general manager, who will now be the general manager and a partner at Elements.

Ephraim Hill, executive sous chef, and Barbara Ferguson, pastry chef, both worked at Mio Kitchen & Wine Bar in Aspinwall, which is closing after service on Aug. 28.

"We wanted to get the best people in Pittsburgh, and I don't think we could have done better," Mr. Greenberg said. He is also proud that the restaurant will open on schedule, first with a soft opening, then to the general public by the end of August.

With renovations complete, just a few finishing touches remain, such as the installation of art from local artist Phiris Kathryn Sickels. "There's an area in the restaurant that's going to be called the gallery," said Mr. Greenberg. "That one wall is dedicated to local artists, and quarterly we're going to switch the artist."

Meanwhile, Mr. Severino is putting the finishing touches on his opening menu. "I'm really trying hard to do simple food, prepared and plated eloquently," he said. Diners can expect a lot of charcuterie, about half made in-house to start.

The menu makes ample use of the kitchen's rotisserie grill with dishes such as porchetta, pork loin and belly seasoned with garlic, rosemary and thyme, and roasted on the rotisserie for about five hours. The meat will be portioned to order, each plate getting a piece of loin and of pork belly, crisped up in the fryer. Charred radicchio and endive, and a warm salsa verde with lentils, will finish off the plate. At lunch, they'll cool down the meat, slice it thin and serve it on panini.

Elysian Fields boneless leg of lamb will also be cooked on the rotisserie, the cavity rubbed with preserved lemon, roasted garlic, tapenade and thyme.

It will be served with homemade merguez sausage, brown butter, mashed potatoes, braised kale, and toasted and crushed almonds and cocoa nibs.

With Ms. Ferguson on the team, plan on ordering dessert. Her opening menu will include late summer flavors, such as a peach crostata with lavender-scented whipped cream, a brown sugar caramel sauce and a toasted streusel topping.

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