Sausage pizza, meatball grinders: Beloved Italian spot closed, but favorites are back

Italian Gardens was a downtown mainstay for nearly 80 years until it finally closed in 2003. But now some of the menu items that made the restaurant so popular can be had at the new Italian Gardens Pizza.

The primarily carryout and delivery operation, at 901 E. 19th St., offers six different Sicilian-style pizzas (by the slice or in a sheet pan), and sandwiches, including Italian steak and meatball grinder (the two most popular sandwich orders). It also has such entrees as chicken spiedini, spaghetti and meatballs, ravioli and chili, along with desserts.

The original Italian Gardens was founded in 1925 and became a downtown anchor near 11th Street and Baltimore Avenue until it closed 18 years ago. Carl DiCapo spent 46 years at the restaurant, moving from cashier to chairman of the board.

His son, John David DiCapo, brought a version of it back, first with the drive-thru only Italian Gardens To Go in Overland Park and the Northland, both of which later closed.

He also started selling its Italian cookies out of the 19th Street location, near the Crossroads Arts District, in 2000.

Italian Gardens To Go customers pleaded for the pizzas to return.

Italian Gardens Pizza first launched in October, at the cookie production facility. But it was put on hold when holiday cookie sales ramped up.

It returned in January, and DiCapo began adding more items for a bigger launch in April.

He has four stools if customers want to dine in and one tabletop where Carl can typically be found holding court.

“Most people do round pizzas, we do square pizzas. We don’t cut corners,” he said. “It has a lot of flavor. A light, airy crust, which is what people tell us is what makes our pizza different.”

Hours: 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday. It is closed Saturday and Sunday.

This story was originally published April 12, 2021 at 12:13 PM.