It has been a year since Damian Mandola and his team opened Mandola’s Italian Kitchen in Cedar Park. Mandola himself was skeptical about the location, but since opening, he said the restaurant has been a hit.
Mandola, who owns the casual, counter-service Italian restaurant, said the sales in Cedar Park are now rivaling those of the original Mandola’s location, which opened in 2006 in The Triangle mixed-use development in Austin. Unlike Mandola’s three other locations, the one in Cedar Park is the first to have a bar.
“We’ll have people come in, and they won’t wait in line,” Mandola said. “Even if the line is running fast … they’ll wait for [a] bar chair.”
His restaurants sell Italian cuisine, such as sandwiches with freshly made mozzarella and focaccia; pizzas; pastas; and an assortment of cakes, pastries and gelato. A Sicilian-American who grew up in Texas, Mandola knows Italian food—and he is no stranger to the restaurant world.
He and a friend opened Damian’s in Huntsville in 1975. Then after opening a few more restaurants in Houston, Mandola entered the national scene. He partnered with his nephew Johnny Carrabba to found Carrabba’s, which was acquired by Outback Steakhouse and now has around 240 locations.
