At 38, Nick Varano was too young to take part in the disco era.

But growing up with 14 uncles who pitched in as his babysitters, the now-restaurateur often found himself going along on their dates. And from the back seats of their cars, he would listen to eight-track tapes playing the Bee Gees and other music of the time.

The grooves stuck with Varano, and now he’s bringing a little “Saturday Night Fever” to the North End with next month’s opening of Nico. The Strega owner describes his second restaurant as a place where the 1977 film’s protagonist, Tony Manero, as played by John Travolta, would kick back.

Nico will serve old-school, home-style Italian cooking: red-sauce dishes, homemade pastas, individual pizzas and different types of meatballs, including those made by Varano’s Calabrian mother. Its retro vibe will include disco balls, 1970s memorabilia - Varano is looking for a white three-piece suit like Travolta wore in the movie - and music and videos from the 1970s and ’80s.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” Varano said. “I know I’m a little bit heavy, but my favorite music is ’70s disco. I love to listen to and dance to it, so I said, ‘Hey, listen, if I like it, other people will like it.’ ”

Varano named the 49-seat restaurant after his 14-year-old son, Nico. Located on two floors at 417 Hanover St., Nico will be a bit more casual than the five-year-old Strega. Prices will range from $13 to $29 for appetizers and entrees.

Ads for Nico pose the question, “Does the North End need another Italian restaurant?” But Varano says he’s aiming for “concept dining.” Customers come to Strega, he said, for an experience that includes his favorite movies (“The Godfather,” “GoodFellas,” “Casino,” “My Blue Heaven”) and the charm of his Italian waiters.

And if you have seen those ads promoting Nico, you might be wondering about the mustachioed man in aviator sunglasses who’s striking that pose against the car. It’s Varano’s uncle Paul in true ’70s style: white slacks and a tight nylon shirt.

George J. George and Wayne Joslin, both in their early 60s, grew up as street kids in Boston’s South End, back when it was a slum and their homes were unheated.

Since 1971, they’ve been operating the Albany Sandwich Shop there, serving a working-class clientele from their Albany and Union Park streets location.

And now that they want to call it quits, it’s the neighborhood where they were born and raised and have been longtime business owners that’s so far prevented them from cashing in.

The South End, of course, has evolved into a mostly upscale neighborhood in their 37 years of business. Their shop on its fringes used to be one of the only eateries around, back when junkyards, shoe factories, book distributors and a soup kitchen were its neighbors. Now, new chichi condos continue to pop up along with high-end restaurants and shops to serve their moneyed owners.

It’s those newer neighbors who torpedoed George and Joslin’s plan to sell their 473 Albany St. building to the New York-based operator of Jazz Hostels. The company, which runs youth hostels in New York City and Miami, wanted to operate a hostel on the upper floors, and a cafe/bar serving beer and wine during extended hours at street level.

But neighborhood opposition prompted the Boston Licensing Board to block the liquor license transfer, and the prospective buyer backed out of the deal. “It was a good price for us, but we lost out,” George said. “To get opposition from a neighborhood that we’ve been part of all these years . . .”

Now George and Joslin are looking for another buyer, but it’s more likely they’ll keep the building and lease out the ground-floor space.

“It’s been a long run, and it’s been a good one for us, but it’s time to move on,” said George, who took a counter-help job at the shop before eventually buying it. “We want to walk out, not be carried out.” Boston has its share of Irish pubs, but nary a wee Scottish one.