Three Italian gentlemen have teamed up to open an Italian restaurant in downtown Dallas: Called The real Italian star, it will open at 2330 Flora St. # 150, better known as the former Flora Street Cafe.
La Stella is from three guys with wonderful vocal names: Giuseppe “JP” Piccinini, Luigi Iannuario and Riccardo Ravaglia.
Iannuario and Ravaglia are both alumni of Da Mario, the upscale Italian restaurant at The Star in Frisco, which opened with a great roar in 2018 and then closed in spring 2020 due to the pandemic. Iannuario was previously head chef at long-time Italian restaurant Nicola’s Ristorante Italiano, which closed in 2019. Ravaglia worked for Lombardi Concepts and previously at Cipriani in New York.
JP is an entrepreneur and innovative real estate pro, according to Candy’s Dirt, and who are we to question Candy? Born in Italy and raised in Texas, JP says he’s always on the lookout for great Italian food.
“I used to go to Da Mario’s a lot,” he says. “I live in Frisco and I was grateful to have a good Italian place nearby that I loved. I always talked to Luigi and Riccardo, we built a friendship.”
After Da Mario closed, Iannuario did some cooking consultations while Ravaglia worked for the Lombardi group. But a seed had been planted.
“I’ve always wanted to get into the hospitality industry and we worked on it together,” says JP.
Their original plan was to reopen in the Da Mario room, hence the name “La Stella”, which translates as “the star”.
Unfortunately for Frisco, and fortunately for downtown Dallas, negotiations took too long and the space on Flora Street became vacant.
“We are very happy to be in this place,” says JP. “We feel like we’re bringing something exciting downtown.”
Flora Street closed in January 2020, looking ahead to the start of the pandemic; Chef Stephan Pyles said he was leaving the industry, pledging to document his various experiences awaiting celebrities as well as “evaluate the dozen of food critics he had met in his four decades of career.”
JP says they have big plans for the space, including building a patio right above it for some starry rooftop experiences.
They haven’t created a menu yet, but they know it will be authentically Italian in a way that is different from anything else in town.
“It’ll be a little more modern than your typical spaghetti & meatballs,” says JP. “We will not have Fettucine Alfredo or salad or pizza. We will prepare local, regional, authentic dishes, precisely prepared and prepared fantastically.”
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