Restauranteur Billy Grise essentially grew up in an Italian eatery.
His great-grandfather, Carmelo Caserta, immigrated to Piqua, Ohio, from Sicily in the early 1900s. In 1915, he opened his namesake tavern and grocery store, Caserta’s, which served traditional and family-style Italian cuisine. It was in his great-grandfather’s restaurant that Grise learned the ins and outs of the hospitality business.
“I worked there,” Grise said. “It was also where I went before school started. It’s where I went after school started. I had a single mom, so that became my everyday daycare. I grew up in a restaurant.”
Grise said Caserta’s closed around five to six years ago. Fortunately, he and his business partner Mitch Arens will have a chance to honor his family’s legacy through their new venture, Carmelo’s – aptly named after his ancestor.
“It was because of Carmelo’s legacy that’s the whole way I grew up,” Grise said. “I’ve always wanted to do an ode to him and my actual grandfather (William).”
Arens and Grise had known each other for over 15 years when they worked together at Nada in Cincinnati. Arens said they became fast friends, trading ideas for different restaurant concepts back and forth. They envisioned opening their own restaurant one day, and Carmelo’s is the culmination of that dream.
While Carmelo’s menu is still being fleshed out, it will include family-style Italian dishes such as lasagna, spaghetti and meatballs, and other pasta dishes. It will also include an extensive wine selection boasting options imported from Italy.
“We knew we wanted to be different,” Arens said. “We knew we wanted to have fun with it, so we landed on American Italian, focusing on nostalgic food that everybody is familiar with. There are a lot of great Italian restaurants in the area – Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati – but I think they all focus on more ‘authentic’ and we thought it would be neat to do something a little more approachable.:
Carmelo’s is located in a former office building at the corner of Madison Avenue and E. 5th Street in Covington. The building’s owner, real estate developer Tony Milburn, told LINK nky that now was the right time to put a restaurant in the space.
“Twenty-some years ago, we pictured a restaurant at that corner,” Milburn said. “We just think that with that corner being such a busy corner, such an important corner in Covington – it’s one of the main entrances into the Central Business District. We always saw a restaurant there.”
The space was previously used as offices. Transitioning from offices to a restaurant required extensive renovations, including installing new kitchen equipment, polished concrete and tile flooring, and cabinetry. Since the renovations are now complete, Milburn will finally get his wish.
“We always thought that a more inclusive menued Italian restaurant was perfect for downtown Covington,” Milburn said.
Carmelo’s will open on Nov. 5. Its hours will be Tuesday through Thursday and Sunday from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.
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