Angelo's Italian Eatery opens new location on Ravine

Kathy Jennings | Thursday, July 18, 2013

Angelo's Italian Eatery outgrew its location inside a gas station on Ravine so it moved into its own building across the street.

The new location at 3325 Ravine Road has more room for customers and allows Angelo's to expand its menu. It also opens a number of business opportunities for the restaurant company, says owner Patrick F. Barnhart. (You can call him Angelo if you want.)

The Ravine Road location has about 4,000 square feet of which about 2,000 is dedicated to the restaurant and the newest addition to the business, an ice cream parlor. The rest of the building will be used as a commissary to prepare food for Angelo's two locations.

Having the commissary is important for the business that prides itself on making its own sauces, breads and pizza dough. And as the business expands -- Battle Creek and Grand Rapids restaurants could be in the future -- the commissary will be used to meet that growth.

But Barnhart is in no hurry to make such a move. The first priority is getting the new business running as smoothly as it can. The restaurant seats 20 and has a room that can be used for meetings that can seat another 12 to 16 people. It also can be used for overflow if the restaurant gets crowded.

The business now has five employees at the Ravine Road restaurant and since the July 3 opening the devoted following of customers built up over the past three years has already found the new location for their favorite pizza and Italian Deluxe Grinder and 24 other sandwiches.

Angelo's has had a Portage location near the Battle Creek-Kalamazoo International Airport for about seven years.

Having their own building also gets Angelo's into the ice cream business for the first time. Barnhart says it is something he and his wife have wanted to do for a number of years. They found the ice cream they wanted to serve, Ashby's made in Ludington, at a food show in southern Ohio.

Ashby's has one of the highest cream factors one can find in Michigan ice cream, Barnhart says. The store has 16 different flavors and will be offering from a choice of 65 to 70 from the ice cream makers.

And coming soon -- a food challenge for the heartiest eaters. The Italian Bambino is an eight-pound grinder that comes on its own loaf of bread. Angelo's will make one for anyone willing to take the challenge as long as you give them at a couple of day's notice.

Hours are Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m to 9 p.m. Call 269.343.3881. Or visit them on Facebook.

Writer: Kathy Jennings, Second Wave Media
Source: Patrick Barnhart, Angelo's Italian Eatery

Angelo's Italian Eatery opens new location on Ravine

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