Bella’s Italian Restaurant has traveled a long way from its original New York home.
The Veliu family have brought their restaurant across state lines multiple times: first to Dallas, Texas, and then most recently to Lee’s Summit, Missouri. In its newest chapter, Bella’s Italian Restaurant is saying hello to the Kansas side of the Kansas City metro area.
Bella’s soft opened its doors in Olathe at the end of November, with a grand opening planned for January. So far, owner Limi Veliu said the restaurant has received a warm welcome from its new Olathe neighbors.
Bella’s Italian Restaurant opened at 16110 W. 135th St.
- The restaurant took over a space just off 135th Street and Mur-Len Road, near Kohl’s and the Olathe Indian Creek Library.
- The space was previously occupied by Applebee’s, which closed last fall — along with all of the other remaining Johnson County locations.
- Bella’s is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Bella’s serves “signature” Italian dishes
Some of the popular items on the Bella’s menu include lasagna, chicken parmigiana, fettuccine alfredo and shrimp scampi.
During these first few weeks, Veliu said the restaurant will stick strictly to the menu. After January, though, Bella’s will start to offer many of its rotating specials that were popular in Lee’s Summit.
The dishes served at Bella’s draw inspiration from the Veliu family’s hometown of Bari, Italy.
“Everything is fresh, 100%,” Veliu said. “We do things the old-fashioned and hard way. We’re not changing anything from the original (recipes).”
Bella’s is not new to the Kansas City area
The Veliu family opened in Lee’s Summit roughly six years ago. At that time, Lee’s Summit’s mayor, Bill Baird, had convinced the family to bring Bella’s to the city after visiting the restaurant on a trip to Dallas.
Bella’s is ultimately a family affair. Veliu’s wife, Shenda, greets customers as they enter. Limi Veliu’s brother, Genci Veliu, and his cousins prepare dishes in the kitchen.
Upon opening the Olathe location, the Velius have transferred the Lee’s Summit location to new ownership so they can focus on getting their footing in Olathe.
“The people there were lovely, and I wish the new owners (well),” Veliu said.
Though he enjoyed his time in Lee’s Summit, Veliu said a lack of local family-owned Italian restaurants in the city motivated him to bring Bella’s to Olathe.
That initial excitement bodes well, Veliu said. Beyond Olathe, he’s considering expanding Bella’s further, into other cities like Overland Park or Leawood.
For now, though, he said he and his family are focused on getting to know the new-turned-familiar faces they’re seeing in Olathe.
“Olathe needed something like this,” he said. “We’ve already seen regular customers that return two times a week. So far so good, everybody loves it.”
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