New Italian restaurant to open in Union at the end of June

A new Italian restaurant, Bella Vita Ristorante, is set to open in Union at the end of June.

The restaurant will move into the property at 9914 Old Union Road, a space that formerly housed the Farmstand Market and Cafe, which closed in December after eight years of business.

The new restaurant is the brainchild of three local men: Kevin Preston, John Daugherty and Rob Trump. Preston is the founder and president of Premier Gaming Group, which operates the Louisiana Downs Race Track and Casino in Bossier City, Louisiana. Daugherty works in construction and Trump works in the mortgage business, but the restaurant itself was a joint venture between the three men as individuals and friends.

The project, Trump said, was “doing something fun that we think that the community needs, and it’s all coming from inside–love.”

They bought the building shortly after Farmstand closed and plan to buy an adjacent building, a partially occupied residential building, although they weren’t sure what they were going to do with that building yet.

Preston said the goal was to offer more fine dining options to Union.

“From a family perspective, you have to go down to Cincinnati to really get a good meal…,” Preston said, “me, being half Italian, I needed an Italian restaurant here, so I said ‘Let’s just build it and do it ourselves.'”

They plan to serve authentic Italian food prepared by a local Italian chef. Renovations of the building’s interior have already started. The building is capable of holding 74 people, Preston said, although that probably won’t match the seating capacity. The only thing they’re currently waiting on, Preston said, is the bar top. The restaurant will also feature an outdoor patio with lights and greenery.

The owners plan to start with dinner service, Wednesdays through Saturdays, and brunch with all-day service on Sundays. Preston said he hoped it would not only be an ideal restaurant spot for locals but also a stop for people traveling home or from other cities.

“We realize that people are going to go downtown for dinner, but we would love them to come back and stop on the way home and have a drink, dessert, whatever it is,” Preston said.

Union elected officials seemed supportive of the idea.

“The common theme that always came up is, we’d like to have places where you don’t have to drive to Florence, you don’t have to drive to Cincinnati,” said Union City Commissioner John Mefford. “So, I hope that this will be very well-received.”

“The community is reacting very positively to this from everybody that I’ve talked to,” said Mayor Larry Solomon.

The business is actively hiring. You can learn more about Bella Vita at bellavitaky.com.