As the saying goes, when one door closes, another one opens. Or in Baldwin City’s case, another restaurant opens. With the closing of McDonald’s, Wheat State Pizza and Feaster’s Bistro came Chester’s Chicken, El Patron and now a new Italian restaurant, Antonucci’s.
“I wanted to provide the town with a new thing,” Antonucci’s owner Brent Boyle said. “The Baldwin community is growing, and the idea of this restaurant is to help it grow.”
After watching countless eateries close down out the window of their current restaurant, the Baldwin Diner, Boyle and business partner Jeremy Rodrock decided to try their luck at the corner of Sixth Street and Ames.
Boyle said he chose Italian as the theme because of a “selfish love” for the food. He has been saving favorite recipes and plans on having a heavy appetizer menu with a few perfected entrees. There will also be a fully stocked bar with live streaming of Baker sporting events.
“I managed Paisano’s (in Lawrence) and I want it to be different from that,” Boyle said, about the new bar area. “I really like this town and I want to give people more options to stay here. Give them a place to go out on a date.”
The name Antonucci’s was chosen due to a joke that Boyle made with a former co-worker. The co-worker’s last name was Antonucci and Boyle joked that if he were to ever open an Italian restaurant, he would name it after him. And when Boyle and Rodrock produced a list of possible names to a group of regular customers, they all unanimously chose Antonucci’s, helping Boyle be true to his promise.
These regulars, and many community members, have been supportive to Boyle and suggest menu items and decoration ideas as he attempts to open the restaurant, which he then takes home and tries out his own way. The most recent proposal: cannolis.
“I tried a bunch of different cannoli recipes over the weekend,” Boyle said. “I definitely try out all the suggestions, but I’m sick of cannolis.”
Although the restaurant will have to compete with the new eateries opening in town, Boyle believes that his regulars will give the new place a try, even if it is just out of loyalty.
Senior Clarence Scott is happy to see the town expanding its restaurant options. Scott rarely stays in Baldwin when it comes to eating out, opting to travel to Lawrence or Kansas City instead.
“Where I’m from, I’m used to having a variety of authentic food,” Scott, a student from St. Petersburg, Fla., said. “Being in Baldwin, I feel like we’re limited on dine-out variety. But with these new restaurants, I plan on at least trying them out before I automatically head to Lawrence.“
There is no set date for the opening of Antonucci’s, but Boyle and Rodrock are aiming to let the public in before the annual Maple Leaf Festival.
