The owners of a Kennewick restaurant which has been dishing up authentic Italian food for more than a quarter of a century have put it on the market to prepare for retirement.
Owner Leonardo Luzi first opened Bella Italia in 1999, a few years after moving to the Tri-Cities from Rome, Italy, along with his wife Nadine.
He said his goal was always to “bring a slice of Italy in here.”
They started serving lunches only at a leased location near the Bank of America on Morain Street in Kennewick.
The Luzis built their current restaurant at 7000 W. Okanogan Place – tucked behind the Hobby Lobby building – in 2007. Today, they offer dinner only from 5-9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
The restaurant isn’t designed like a typical restaurant. Instead, the Luzis had it modeled after Italian “casales,” or country houses, typical of Tuscany. It’s more like a house than a restaurant, he said. The front is made with real stone, and inside, the walls are decked with art, some painted by his wife.
Selling and retirement
As Luzi looks toward retirement, Bella Italia’s 4,121-square-foot building has been listed for sale at $1.9 million.
Partially because of the unique building, he hopes to be able to sell the business along with the building, he said, or at least he hopes another Italian restaurant will be able to move in. But because the money from the sale will fund his retirement, he may not have the time to wait for the perfect buyer.
He owns a piece of land next to the restaurant, and plans to hang on to it to sell in the future.
Located near the Three Rivers Convention Center and the planned new AC Marriott, as well as the recently-opened Kuki Izakaya at Vista Field, the property’s value has gone up a lot, he said.
Until Luzi is able to find a buyer, the restaurant will remain open and he will continue working.
He’ll be 63 in October, and most of his spare time is devoted to Bella Italia. He’s in at 7 a.m. every day to prepare dinners and spends his Mondays off cleaning and shopping.
He has about eight employees but he’s mostly the one doing the cooking, and he looks forward to the free time he’ll have in retirement to spend with his family.
While he doesn’t always enjoy the more bureaucratic aspects of running a business, he is passionate about cooking and loves the relationships he has built with people.
Authenticity
Chef Luzi began cooking in Italy. He said his mom was a great cook, and he learned from her and his family, then ended up working in a restaurant with his wife.
When he moved to the Tri-Cities, he went to college and learned English, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to open a restaurant. In Italy, dinners ran late and often people would come in as late as midnight. But here, he noticed everyone wrapped up before 9 p.m. and there was no need to stay open later.
Luzi said he focuses strictly on Italian food, rather than making custom dishes. He said everything he serves can be found in any restaurant in Italy.
He wants the restaurant to be remembered as an authentic Italian restaurant, he said, a place where people can eat even if they can’t afford a trip to Italy.
Each summer, Luzi closes the restaurant for a few weeks to travel home to Italy, where he still has a house and family. His children speak Italian, he said, and his grandkids are also learning the language.
He won’t stay in Italy after his retirement, though he plans to spend a few months there. His children and grandchildren are still in the U.S.
Bella Italia also serves as a meeting place for the local chapter of the Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America, a group of Americans with Italian heritage. The group meets monthly at the restaurant, and Luzi said that in the past, he would help translate letters and find family members.
‘Made of relationships’
Luzi said that although he’s noticed that many Tri-Citians get excited about chain restaurants, he prefers keeping money local because “this community helped me a lot.”
That local flow of money helped him stay afloat through the 2008 economic crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, he said.
The restaurant was able to adapt during the pandemic, offering takeout delivery and building a patio outside for people to sit and eat when the weather was warmer.
He also recalled generous customers who pitched in during that time, like one who left a $150 tip for a $20 spaghetti dish.
Though money may come and go, “life is made of relationships,” Luzi said.
“I feel very blessed to be here,” he said.