Ray Parrella's Italian restaurant closed late last year, and the building it occupied at 2311 Frankfort Ave. has sat empty ever since. A couple of months ago, though, I noticed a banner out front for a new Italian eatery while walking down Frankfort. It advertised a place called DiFabio's Casapela, and the sign said the place was "coming soon." Then "soon" was crossed out and "April 6" was written in black marker. April 6 is this Tuesday.
I called the restaurant this afternoon and got owner Peter DiFabio on the phone. He and his wife, Laura, have run a DiFabio's Casapela in Madisonville, Ky., for 15 years, and the plan in Louisville, according to the restaurant's website, is for the couple's daughters to operate the new location. Opening is 5 p.m. Tuesday.
A quick scan of the online menu shows that a filet will cost you about $25, and veal, chicken and seafood dishes are about $15 to $18. A pasta dinner won't even set you back $10. DiFabio didn't want to talk too much about the Frankfort Avenue location because he wants "the employees to gain experience" before they're "inundated" with customers. "We've been fine-tuning our Madisonville location since we opened," DiFabio says. "Our fine-tuning here starts tomorrow."
Once the staff kneads out the opening-a-new-restaurant knots and everything is under control in a week or so, I'm excited to give the patio a try.
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