DINING FEATURE
BY ZARA FLORES
AUTHENTIC ITALIAN IN TEXAS The Ilario’s Italian Cuisine and Catering menu has an array of appetizers, soups and salads, specialties and pizzas. Customers can also “pasta your way” and create a custom dish. Diners also have wine, beer and sodas for drink options.
The pizza comes without tomato sauce and is topped with cheese, oil and more.
Andrew Venezie took over ownership of Ilario’s Italian Cuisine and Catering in January 2022. (Photos by Zara Flores/Community Impact)
The toasted ravioli has a crunchy exterior but a soft lling.
Tubes of pasta are stu ed and baked for the manicotti dish.
DID YOU KNOW? Ilario’s also o ers catering both o - and on-site. Events include:
Ilario’s Italian Cuisine and Catering Childhood memories inspired the takeover of this Italian eatery in Kyle L ooking back on his child-
• weddings • birthdays
• luncheons • graduations
• anniversaries • quinceaneras
When Swindell opened the restaurant in 2011, it just sold pizza, Venezie recalled. It swiftly turned into a sit-down restaurant with a full Italian menu and has largely remained the same since Venezie took over. “Most of the menu, I’d say anywhere from about 90-95%, is still the same. I didn’t want to change too much because the reputation within Kyle and the surrounding areas was already good,” Venezie said. Over the years, Ilario’s has made a name for itself in Kyle as an inde- pendent, locally owned restaurant among a sea of corporations. “We stand out because a lot of the places around here are chains,
nothing against it,” Venezie said. “Ours is an independent restau- rant; we don’t have a corporate o ce. … Whatever our vision is and wherever we’re going, we can make that decision for the commu- nity and for ourselves.” Venezie hopes to eventually expand Ilario’s with more locations in either direction of I-35 into Austin and San Antonio. It remains unclear when that may happen; for now, Venezie and his sta have their community in Kyle. “We have some fantastic people here, the regulars that come in all the time, and I get to meet them. It’s wonderful being able to get to know their story as well,” Venezie said.
hood and his Italian roots, some of Andrew Venezie’s favorite memories revolved around family dinners his grandmother made; he assisted her and crimped the edges of ravioli or rolled gnocchi. It is part of what inspired him to take over ownership of Ilario’s Italian Cuisine and Catering in January 2022 when the former owner, Stephen Swindell, sold it. He also spent a considerable amount of time working in the service industry from bussing to bartending during high school, learning the skills of the trade which lent themselves to the transition of ownership.
Ilario’s Italian Cuisine and Catering 5401 FM 1626, Ste. 810, Kyle 512-268-3300 www.ilarios.com Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. daily
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