Q What happened to the Italian Garden Restaurant? It still has signs outside indicating it’s open, but it never is.
A The restaurant has gone out of business, according to Lisa Taylor, communications director for the Kansas Department of Agriculture, which oversees licensing and inspections of restaurants and other food-related operations.
“We did receive an out-of-business report,” Taylor said. “We do know that they have closed.”
Taylor said that the Italian Garden license had not been suspended by the ag department. The closing was voluntary.
The restaurant had been the subject of curiosity for numerous Gazette readers, who’d been asking questions and speculating since around Thanksgiving, when Italian Garden locked its doors.
At first, the thought was perhaps the two brothers who ran the business, Gzim and Flory Veseli, had taken their wives and children home for a holiday celebration with family. But the restaurant doors continued to be locked to the public, while all of its signage seemed to indicate it was still doing business.
On Tuesday morning, its telephone number, 342-2100, still rang without an interrupting message to say the phone had been disconnected.
A telephone call early this month to the Italian Garden in Warrensburg, Mo., where the Veselis said they had opened another restaurant, annoyed a man in charge who returned the call. He said that his restaurant had nothing to do with the Emporia restaurant; he knew nothing about the situation here and said not to bother him again.
The Emporia Italian Garden, once listed on the www.bestitaliangarden.com Web site along with Warrensburg, was removed from the site this month.
No one answered early Tuesday afternoon at the telephone number given for the new Italian Garden restaurant in Ottawa.
So, the restaurant has closed, though an Italian Garden sign looms in the air above the building and a banner declaring it open for business stands on the front lawn. Inside, however, the restaurant is empty of tables and chairs that once were packed with customers.
Patronage had suffered somewhat shortly after the restaurant opened in June, when an outbreak of salmonella was investigated by health officials. The report on the cause traced its start to Italian Garden, but the restaurant was not blamed; health departments in two states were investigating an out-of-state supplier, according to the last report available.
- This column is for readers with questions on topics of local interest. Questions need to be sent to Because You Asked, in care of The Emporia Gazette, Drawer C, Emporia KS 66801. Questions need to be signed, but names will not be revealed. Questions submitted anonymously will not be answered.
eatasheep69 (anonymous) says...
Such a shame. I had waning hopes that it would re-open. I asked so many others, but no one seemed to know why they were no longer open. I had eaten there 3 or 4 times and really liked the place. I thought it was a nice fit for Emporia.
December 16, 2009 at 4:49 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Emporia_Spartan (anonymous) says...
I am also saddened to hear it has closed. We ate there many times, trying to support it and told friends that they should try it. The food was very good, and I thought it was a nice dining option for Emporia. Unfortunately, too many people stayed away after the health issue, and they were never able to build a strong clientele. We really do need to focus our attention on Emporia businesses and spending our money locally whenever possible -- not just during the Christmas season. It's a real struggle for everyone in today's economy, and we need to help each other locally when possible.
December 17, 2009 at 4:41 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )