Little Italy Pizza & Italian Restaurant, a fixture in Rural Hall since 1999, has a new home — just down the street from its old one.
Little Italy opened March 30 in a brand-new building at 696 Angus St., at the intersection of Bethania-Rural Hall Road. Owners Margherita Looz and Domenico Borredon said they decided to move out of their rented space in a nearby strip center because they needed to expand and wanted to own their space.
Linguine and clams (clockwise from foreground), chicken masala and eggplant parmesan at Little Italy Pizza and Italian Restaurant on Tuesday, Mar. 29, 2022, at 696 Angus St. in Rural Hall, N.C.
“We needed more room, and we wanted to have something to leave our kids,” Looz said.
In a way, the move marks the final step in Little Italy’s transition from a pizza parlor and sandwich shop to a full-service Italian restaurant.
Looz’ father, Pascale Looz, started Little Italy after emigrating from a small town outside Naples. He and his brother Luigi ran an Elizabeth’s Pizza in High Point before opening Little Italy. Pascale Looz has now retired, and various family members run four Little Italy locations — in King, Dobson and Burlington as well as Rural Hall.
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Margherita Looz and Domenico Borredon, co-owners of Little Italy Pizza and Italian Restaurant, on Tuesday, Mar. 29, 2022, at 696 Angus St. in Rural Hall, N.C.
Looz and Borredon kept the original location open during construction of the new building, which began in June. Completion originally was planned in November. “We just had a hard time getting things,” Looz said. “Even now, I don’t have all my tables and booths — I had to borrow tables from the other restaurants because mine are sitting in a port somewhere.”
Domenico Borredon prepares a meat lovers pizza at Little Italy Pizza and Italian Restaurant on Tuesday, Mar. 29, 2022, at 696 Angus St. in Rural Hall, N.C.
The new Little Italy has 144 seats, compared to about 75 in the former location. That includes about 20 seats on a patio — something lacking before. It also includes a private room with a fireplace that can seat 50 and can be opened or closed off from the main dining room as needed.
The large open kitchen runs down one side of the building. “It’s so big. I love it,” Borredon said of his new kitchen. “We have so much more space.”
Looz and Borredon said they needed more kitchen and dining space. “We were at the original location for 23 years, and we loved it,” Looz said. “But we really needed to expand. We want to do more catering, more weddings. We want to be able to have Christmas parties.”
Pasquale Carannante prepares pizza dough at Little Italy Pizza and Italian Restaurant on Tuesday, Mar. 29, 2022, at 696 Angus St. in Rural Hall, N.C.
The new kitchen still has pizza ovens right up front, but it also has more cooking and prep space, including a grated grill in addition to a large flattop, convection ovens, deep fryers and 12 stovetop burgers. “With the new grill, we can do steaks on weekends,” Looz said.
Borredon said he also has more space and freedom to do other off-menu items, such as linguine with clams.
Years ago, Little Italy was thought of mostly a pizza place. And they’ve long been known for such sandwiches as cheesesteak subs. But they have gradually transitioned over the years, adding more Italian entrees.
So, yes, you can still get all the favorite pizzas, stromboli, calzones, and hot and cold subs. That’s especially true at lunch, where the specials mostly involve sandwiches and pizzas. Yet the bulk of the menu now consists of appetizers, salads, pastas and other entrees.
Domenico Borredon prepares a meat lovers pizza at Little Italy Pizza and Italian Restaurant on Tuesday, Mar. 29, 2022, at 696 Angus St. in Rural Hall, N.C.
Little Italy also has made the switch to full table service.
But Little Italy isn’t trying to get fancy. The menu still focuses on comfort food. Pastas include spaghetti with meatballs ($11.95), meat tortellini Bolognese ($10.95) and fettucine Alfredo ($10.95).
Baked dishes include eggplant Parmigiana ($13.25), lasagna ($11.95) and manicotti ($10.95).
Among the seafood items, customers can choose from grilled salmon and shrimp ($17.95) and shrimp Alfredo ($13.99).
Chicken dishes include chicken Marsala ($15.25), cacciatore ($15.25) and Caprese ($11.95).
Among the appetizers are calamari ($10.99) as well as chicken fingers ($7.25), mozzarella sticks ($6.95 for six) and garlic knots ($5.25).
Little Italy offers about a dozen salads, from a small side salad ($3.75) to antipasto salad ($9.95), chicken Caesar ($9.95) and grilled salmon ($13.95).
The restaurant has ABC permits for beer and wine, the latter of which is primarily Italian.
Desserts ($2.50 to $7.25) include tiramisu, cannoli and lemon Italian cream cake, as well as chocolate cake, carrot cake, cheesecake and apple tart with ice cream.
The dining room includes a mix of tables and booths in two rooms. The fireplace sits at the junction between the main dining room and private room, and can be seen from two sides.
There are two large custom murals on the walls, as well as family photos. “I brought a lot of things over from the old restaurant, too,” Looz said. “People liked the old place because it had that homey feel. I want to have that here, too.”
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April 01, 2022
https://journalnow.com/entertainment/dining/little-italy-opens-in-new-larger-location-in-rural-hall/article_9dd16ed2-b060-11ec-baeb-77789db0b857.html
Little Italy opens in new, larger location in Rural Hall - Winston-Salem Journal
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