Papa Vino’s Italian Kitchen in Warsaw will have its grand opening on Monday, July 10. InkFreeNews photo by Liz Shepherd.

By Liz Shepherd
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — Papa Vino’s Italian Kitchen restaurant in Warsaw will have its grand opening at 11 a.m. Monday, July 10, with its soft opening on Thursday, July 6.

Papa Vino’s, located at 2640 Escalade Way, offers a wide variety of Italian dishes, including pastas and pizzas. The restaurant also has carry-out options, and has two private dining rooms.

Construction on the restaurant first began in Fall 2022. Currently, management is training 120 new employees for the Warsaw Papa Vino’s building and is still in the hiring process.

Warsaw’s location will be the third Papa Vino’s owned and operated by Quality Dining Inc. There are also Papa Vino’s restaurants in Mishawaka and St. Joseph, Mich.

“We decided well over a year and a half ago (to build here in Warsaw),” said Steve Hunter, senior vice-president of operations at Quality Dining Inc. “It’s been busy but it’s been exciting to see it come together and grow over the last couple years.”

Hunter said a lot of the staff at the Mishawaka Papa Vino’s restaurant have been asked by patrons about when the Warsaw location would open.

“This is a perfect community for us,” said Hunter. “We’re community-minded, we’re not a big city brand. We get a lot of customers from Kosciusko County to (our Mishawaka restaurant.)”

“Even being out at local stores, people have been stopping us and saying, ‘Hey, when are you opening?'” said Kelli Kuczmanski, director of marketing at Quality Dining Inc. “We’re so happy to have a Papa Vino’s location here.”

Hunter said the food and atmosphere at Papa Vino’s stands out.

“Our corporate chef, Harry Anderson, has done a fantastic job building this menu over 25 years,” said Hunter. “He continues to refresh it.”

Papa Vino’s also holds Papa’s Partners events, which are fundraisers for not-for-profit organizations. During the day of a Papa’s Partners event, part of the restaurant’s proceeds go to a not-for-profit.

“We’re just so excited to be a part of the community,” said Hunter. “We’ve been very well-received here and everyone has been so kind.”

Papa Vino’s business hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays, and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.