<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2DcfNu_0vl49l2l00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2DcfNu_0vl49l2l00" width="2048" height="1363" ><figcaption>Vito Grisanzio, center, cuts the ribbon on the new Capri Restaurant on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, along Riverside Boulevard in Loves Park. (Photo by Kevin Haas/Rock River Current)</figcaption></figure>LOVES PARK — Capri Restaurant fired up its kitchen this week to serve friends and family as it prepares to welcome its first customers in nearly two years.The family-run Italian restaurant, which had been a staple in downtown Rockford for more than six decades, will welcome customers to its new location at 6480 E. Riverside Blvd. starting at 4 p.m. on Saturday as it opens for carryout service. It’s the first time fans of Capri’s pizza, pastas, salads and sandwiches can get the Grisanzio family’s recipes since a fire shut down the Rockford location in October 2022.“The other night we got the oven on and we tasted the first pizza. It was like — bam — right there,” Vito Grisanzio Jr. said. “It had the same taste. We were all excited. We were high fiving.”More business: New flower shop to open in downtown, filling former Rockford Roasting Co. spaceThe family gathered with friends at the new Loves Park restaurant on Thursday for a ribbon-cutting ceremony with The Parks Chamber of Commerce and local dignitaries including Mayor Greg Jury, state Rep. Dave Vella, state Sen. Dave Syverson, Machesney Park Mayor Steve Johnson and Winnebago County Board Chairman Joe Chiarelli.“We’re really excited about having this here,” Jury said. “This is probably going to cause traffic problems and all these fun things, but it’s worth it, let me tell you.”The carryout service is a first step for Capri. A banquet hall and dining room are under construction now, with expectations to open in 2025. The dining room will have seating for about 160, similar to the space in downtown Rockford, and there will be an outdoor patio with seating for about 90.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0qJxbn_0vl49l2l00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0qJxbn_0vl49l2l00" width="2048" height="1355" ><figcaption>Vito Grisanzio Sr., left, jokes with the Rev. David Beauvais, former pastor of St. James Catholic Church in Rockford, before a blessing on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, of the new Capri Restaurant in Loves Park. (Photo by Kevin Haas/Rock River Current)</figcaption></figure>The new carryout restaurant is unrecognizable from the convenience store attached to a Shell gas station that was originally on the site.When you step inside, there’s a wall of black-and-white family photos depicting Capri’s history. A room for video gambling is tucked in the back, near what will eventually be the gateway to the future dining space and banquet hall.For now, a tent was set up outside the carryout space for people to sit and relax with their order in a temporary patio space.“It will provide people an area to relax a little bit so we can make our way out and talk to them,” Grisanzio Jr. said. “We haven’t seen a lot of them in two years — there’s so many people we just want to talk again.”The full menu you remember from the downtown location is available, with pasta bowls, baked mostaccioli, blackened chicken, breaded mushrooms, shrimp dejogne, Italian beef and a host of pizzas and other Italian options.There will be new options added when the dining room space is opened next year, Grisanzio Jr. said.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4A2gFr_0vl49l2l00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4A2gFr_0vl49l2l00" width="2048" height="1435" ><figcaption>The Rev. David Beauvais leads a blessing on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, at Capri Restaurant in Loves Park. From left to right are Vito Grisanzio, Vito Grisanzio Jr., Mike Grisanzio and Dom Grisanzio. Off camera is Janette Grisanzio. (Photo by Kevin Haas/Rock River Current)</figcaption></figure>The Grisanzio family founded Capri at 313 E. State St. in downtown Rockford in 1963. It was a staple in downtown until the fire.The family decided to buy a former Shell gas station in Loves Park for its new restaurant rather than try to reopen the downtown Rockford spot because of a combination of economics, timing and frustration with the process of trying to repair the downtown site.The family will decide what to do with its downtown Rockford space after opening the dining hall in Loves Park next year. So far, they said they could use the location as an event space.For now, they’re happy to welcome guests back for the first time in two years. “It’s like it was a blink,” Grisanzio Jr. said. “It’s like the last two years didn’t even happen.”<h2>Fast facts | Capri Restaurant</h2>Founded: 1963 in downtown RockfordNew location: 6480 E. Riverside Blvd., Loves Park Grand opening: 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28 Hours: 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday; 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday and Friday for lunch; closed MondayPhone: 815-965-6341 Online: lovescapripizza.com<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0HKR5r_0vl49l2l00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0HKR5r_0vl49l2l00" width="2048" height="1324" ><figcaption>Vito Grisanzio Jr. thanks people gathered on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for Capri Restaurant in Loves Park. “I think pretty much this whole crowd, at one point or another, has pitched in and really helped us get where we are today,” he told the dozens gathered. (Photo by Kevin Haas/Rock River Current)</figcaption></figure>This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas</div></body>

Mountain View, CA

NewsBreak

Family and friends celebrate Capri Restaurant’s return ahead of Saturday’s opening

LOVES PARK — Capri Restaurant fired up its kitchen this week to serve friends and family as it prepares to welcome its first customers in nearly two years. The family-run Italian restaurant, which had been a staple in downtown Rockford for more than six decades, will welcome customers to its new location at 6480 E. Riverside Blvd. starting at 4 p.m. on Saturday as it opens for carryout service. It’s the first time fans of Capri’s pizza, pastas, salads and sandwiches can get the Grisanzio family’s recipes since a fire shut down the Rockford location in October 2022.