It’s nice to know you have options.

Say you wake up tired and want the zing of a pastry and espresso before work. Or maybe you want to grab a slice of gourmet pizza before a showing of the latest movie at the Old Mill 10.

Or after a movie, the family might want a whole pie – maybe a 17-inch Roma, a four-cheese pizza topped with Italian sausage and salsa ($22). Or you and your date want a quick coffee and dessert before a walk along the Deschutes River.

In theory, you could feast on a day’s worth of meals and then some at Ponte Vecchio (pronounced Pon’ta Vek’io) the newest dining option in The Shops at the Old Mill District. Such is its eclectic menu, in which salads, sandwiches, dessert, coffee and wine stand alongside gourmet pizzas.

Ponte Vecchio has been open just three weeks – the sign arrived just a week ago – yet business has been brisk ”right out of the gate,” says co-owner Jon Sliger, primarily through word of mouth.

”This is a blast,” says the dough slinger. ”I’m back to my roots.”

”This is what we started doing at Natalia’s,” the Westside restaurant he owns with his wife, Natalie, he says. ”We had entrees on the menu in addition (to pizza), and people started coming in more for the entrees and less for the pizza.”

”That place just evolved into a dinner house. Originally, it was slated to be more like this.”

The sauce and the dough are from Sliger’s own recipes from a restaurant he ran on the Oregon coast before coming to Bend.

Pizzas come in three sizes, 10-, 13- and 17-inches, and are priced accordingly. You can assemble your own starting from a base of marinara, pesto or olive oil and adding meats, cheeses, vegetables and/or seafood.

Once the smell of baking pizzas hits your nostrils, you may be too busy drooling to make hard decisions about ingredients. Fortunately, there are 14 gourmet pizzas to choose from, plus a daily alternative that’s sold by the slice.

”The pizzas that do the best tend to be the more exotic ones,” says Sliger with a look of surprise. ”I’m a French vanilla guy. I’m always going to go for the four-cheese and just sample the sauce and the crust.”

Among the choices are the Positano, marinara bedecked with mozzarella, green apple, gorgonzola and toasted walnuts.

Sliger’s personal favorite is the Milano, with basil pesto, mozzarella and fontina cheese, pancetta, fresh garlic, mushrooms, topped off with parsley and romano cheese.

Sliger says the eatery is a work in progress. The menu continues to evolve, and in the future will likely appeal to dieters by highlighting veggies and proteins.

There are some similarities between Natalia’s and Ponte Vecchio – fresh sandwiches on foccacia, salads and lasagna ($6.25) made there daily – and some differences.

One difference is the presence of a partner, Trish Smith, wife of Old Mill District developer Bill Smith.

”My landlord’s wife is my partner,” he says with a laugh. ”It’s a sweet deal.”

The space sat empty since the Old Mill District opened in June of 2001.

Sliger designed the kitchen area while Smith took care of the decor.

With its big wooden tables, high ceilings and brick-and-mirror interior, it’s sophisticated, but not so elegant that one can’t stop in after a movie.

Though its location would seem perfect for a pizza establishment, Ponte Vecchio tends to draw its own crowd, not just overflow from the movie theater next door.

”People are coming down here specifically for this,” Sliger says. ”This has done exactly what we hoped. Better than we imagined.”

David Jasper can be reached at 541-383-0349 or djasper@bendbulletin.com.