After working in the restaurant business for over 35 years, Leo Gaertner and his wife, Michelle Gaertner, opened Leo’s Italian Grill in May 2019. Located in Cedar Creek, the restaurant offers homemade Italian cuisine and country meals in a family-oriented atmosphere.

The backstory

In the '90s, Leo Gaertner worked under a master chef who planted the seed of his love for pasta. Despite the focus of Italian cuisine, he said the restaurant’s menu is inviting to all flavor palettes.

“It's got our little Southern flair to it. Being out in the country, we added different things for different people. So we're not strictly Italian. We do a hand cut ribeye every day. We have prime rib on the weekends. We do have a bar area, so we have some bar food like burgers and wings and stuff like that,” he said.

A family affair


Leo Gaertner’s culinary history goes back to when he was 10 years old, when his grandfather taught him how to bake bread—the same bread served at Leo’s Italian Grill today.

He pays homage to this longstanding tradition by featuring his family’s recipes on the restaurant’s vast menu.

Must-try menu items
  • Appetizer: Meatball sliders made with homemade Hawaiian bread rolls
  • Main course: Chicken or shrimp Alfredo
  • Dessert: Italian cream cake
The inspiration

Covering the walls inside the restaurant are photos resembling family portraits, but the people featured in them are customers. Michelle Gaertner said the family ambience of the restaurant is what keeps people going back.


“For us, it's about building relationships with all of our neighbors. It's not just our guests, but other restaurants in the area. We just want to give back to our community as much as they give back to us,” Michelle Gaertner said.