Decades-old Johnson County Italian restaurant closed. It’s coming back, just blocks away
After closing in 2021, decades-old Italian Delight by Avelluto is coming back to Johnson County. With a few changes.
John Avelluto — the owner and son of founder Joseph Avelluto — is opening a restaurant in the former Mission d’Bronx space at 6846 Johnson Drive.
This time, it’ll be called Avelluto’s. John said the menu will be paired down slightly, but it’ll have many of the same recipes customers loved from before — pizza, homemade meatballs and more.
“It’s gonna feel like you’re in a place in Italy or on the East Coast somewhere,” John said.
Italian Delight was founded in 1977 in the old Indian Springs Shopping Center in Kansas City, Kansas. Joseph opened another in Mission at 6522 Martway St. in 1983. John jumped into the business with his father.
Joseph split with his business partner and kept the Mission location. His partner kept the KCK spot (now at 8145 State Ave.).
But the Mission restaurant closed in 2021, partly due to COVID, John said. The Other Place, a bar and grill, took over the space in December. Meanwhile, the Mission location of d’Bronx closed in October.
John said he’s been itching to get back into business.
“I make pizza all the time at home,” John said. “There’s other pizzas you can get around here that are good, but it’s like having a child. Yours is always going to be the best.”
John hopes to have his restaurant open by mid-April or May. And although Joseph has been out of the business since the early 2000s, he’s eagerly awaiting opening day, too.
“This really is gonna be an homage to my father,” John said. “He’s excited.”