Jimmy's Italian Cuisine & Bar in downtown Dayton has soft opening Wednesday

Apr. 30—Jimmy's Italian Cuisine & Bar is opening its doors in downtown Dayton at 11 a.m. Wednesday.

The restaurant will start with a soft opening featuring a limited menu. They hope to hold a grand opening on May 15 with their full menu.

"We're very excited to come to Dayton," said Owner Mo Jusufi. "We will make Dayton proud with a good restaurant here."

Jusufi, who also owns Jimmy's Italian Kitchen in Kettering at 3002 Woodman Drive, said customers can expect longtime favorites like chicken parmigiana, lasagna and pepperoni rolls in addition to some new offerings.

New dishes include: — Bruschetta — Four-Way Pasta Delight (shells, manicotti, ravioli and a small piece of lasagna) — Trio Delight (chicken parm, stuffed shell and lasagna) — Steak (filet mignon or New York strip steak)

The Dayton restaurant will also have Mild or Spicy Chicken Wings that were previously offered at the Kettering restaurant prior to the pandemic.

Jusufi, who is originally from Kosovo, but moved to Dayton in 2002, has been working in the restaurant with his family for the past 32 days to get it up and running. The space, which is three times bigger than their Kettering restaurant, was previously the home to Franco's Ristorante Italiano. Since getting the keys on March 27, Jusufi has completed several renovations and updates like replacing the carpet with tile floors in the main dining room and painting the inside and outside of the restaurant. They've also cleaned and prepped the kitchen.

He is looking forward to having a bar area with TVs for customers to watch sports. They plan to offer a happy hour and lunch menu served from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Jusufi's secret to success is having great customer service, good food and friendly staff. He has hired about 10 employees for the Dayton restaurant and hopes to hire at least three more.

Jimmy's Italian Cuisine & Bar, located at 824 E. Fifth St., will be open 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily with the kitchen closing at 9 p.m. Bar food like chicken wings and mozzarella sticks will be available until closing. For more information and updates, visit the restaurant's Facebook page.