KIRKWOOD — The local restaurateurs behind the Italian Café Napoli are eyeing Kirkwood for their new eatery on the ground floor of one of this city's newest apartment buildings.Â
Kirkwood’s planning and zoning commission on Wednesday will consider a special use permit to Napoli Brothers LLC that would allow about 50 outdoor dining seats and the use of exterior speakers for the new Italian spot.
The Napoli restaurant is planned for 436 North Kirkwood Road on the first floor of The James, a luxury apartment complex that opened in February.
Kye Pietoso, restaurant owner and son of Café Napoli founders, said Napoli Kirkwood will be more modern and "loungey" than Café Napoli in Clayton, with a bar, couches, booths and televisions. There will also be a pizza oven and private room for special events.Â
"We've always loved Kirkwood,"Â Pietoso said. "The James was the perfect opportunity."Â
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The restaurant’s interior will be over 4,700 square feet and on the northwest side of the building will be a patio over 1,000 square feet.
The Napoli Group, led by the Pietoso family, has fine dining restaurant locations in Clayton, Town and Country and St. Charles. A more casual option, Napoli Bros. Pizza and Pasta, recently opened at The District in Chesterfield.Â
"We have definitely wanted to do pizza for a very long time,"Â Pietoso said. "It's for families and is more kid-oriented."
Napoli Kirkwood is slated to open this fall.