If you’ve ever wished that a new Italian restaurant would open in Fayetteville, somewhere in the uptown area on the North/Northeast-ish side of town, kind-of over by the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks, your wish is about to come true.
Robert Lee and his wife Lynette are planning to re-open Spiedini Italian Grill at 3878 N. Crossover Road in Fayetteville sometime in the next few weeks.
Spiedini originally opened in Bentonville back in 2008, and after 18 months in operation, a covenant law on the property where they opened the restaurant forced the business to close.
After several months of scouting properties, Spiedini has signed a lease, and is currently renovating a space in Signature Plaza, most recently Soul Restaurant in Fayetteville.
Lee said that the restaurant will focus on pastas, pizzas, Italian handstretch, entree salads, kabobs, gelato, sorbetto, gourmet desserts, and other items.
The Fayetteville location will be also offer some new items in addition to the “fast casual” items the Bentonville store focused on. Garlic rubbed steaks, stuffed pork chops, chicken parmesan, and salmon filets are some of the new menu items they’ve been working on.
Beer and wine will also be a welcome addition to the Fayetteville location. Bentonville is a dry county.
According to Lee, many of his dishes are inspired by his family.
“My grandparents were from Naples, so there is a lot of influence there,” he said. “What we do is what I sometimes call ‘immigrant Italian.’ I’m second generation Italian, but still trying to match my Mom’s first generation cooking. I’m getting close. The problem is, she never wrote a recipe down.”
Barring delays, Lee said that he hopes Spiedini Italian Grill could open as early as late next week.
