By Jack Nicas

Two new Somerville businesses debuted on Thursday, with the re-opening of Soleil Café under new ownership in Teele Square and the “soft opening” of Bowl & Board in Davis Square.

With the exception of its name, the new Soleil Café has little in common with the old. Its specialty is pastries, although they serve sandwiches as well. New owners, Teresa Morena and Fortunato Conte, hail from Salerno, Italy and are eager to bring some of that authentic Italian taste, including cannoli, tiramisu and gelato, to Somerville. Morena said Soleil has a lunch and dinner menu, and for breakfast, customers can enjoy Italian pastries with coffee or espresso.

Conte, the former chef at Modern Pastry, said the café offers quality sandwiches, salads and pasta, with all sandwiches served on his homemade focaccia. They also sell their cookies and pastries by the pound and take orders for specialized cakes, with 15 varieties to choose from, he said.

Conte’s father, mother and brother are currently over from Italy, helping out in the kitchen, and making sure the cooking is truly authentic. Conte said the newly renovated caf√© will begin serving his brother’s daily specials next week.

Down Holland Street another new business took root Thursday, as Bowl & Board opened its doors for the first time. Owner Mark Giarrusso said the furniture store is still in the works and a grand opening will be held sometime after Labor Day.

However, for now, a sign outside welcomes in pedestrians and their dogs to browse the current selection. Although Giarrusso said he owns locations in Coolidge Corner, Providence and Martha’s Vineyard, each store is ‚Äú20 percent unique to the area.‚Äù The store pulls from over 300 vendors and is always looking for ‚Äúnew local craftsmen,‚Äù Giarrusso said.

Moving from Harvard Square, the Davis Square location expects to attract a lot of the same customers. In fact, Giarrusso said he was at first attracted to the square because many of his former customers already hailed from Somerville.

Bowl & Board should fit right into the community, as Giarrusso said keeping a small carbon footprint was important. He only buys local, he made the store’s walls and displays from the Harvard Square location’s recycled wood, and he limits his merchandise’s size; ‚Äúfurniture that fits,‚Äù he said. The store should also liven up the square on weekends; Giarrusso said he would feature live music every Saturday.