Iolans will soon be able to add another restaurant to their list of dining options. Corleone’s will be opening its doors at the end of November. BOREN said she and her family had always wanted to take on a project like a restaurant and when the opportunity presented itself in May they decided to buy the building. CORLEONE’S will be serving pizza and pasta, made fresh daily, and will have a full pub.
Corleone’s, formerly Ken’s Pizza on North State Street, is owned by Katy and Ron Boren, of Boren’s Roofing, and will be managed by Aaron Franklin and his wife Allegra.
“We have known each other for years,” Katy Boren said. “Aaron is like family.”
Family is exactly what the Borens were thinking of when they decided to get into the restaurant business. It is also what prompted the name Corleone’s.
Katy Boren, being a movie buff, was inspired by the Godfather movies during the naming process.
“It ties into the Italian and family theme of the restaurant,” she said.
“We want people to feel like part of the family when they come into the restaurant,” Franklin added.
“We would have never taken that leap if it wasn’t for Aaron,” Boren said.
The building went under a complete renovation. The back room, which used to be a party room, was turned into a pub.
“We completely changed the look of the inside,” Boren said. “It is a brand new place.”
Franklin is a veteran in the restaurant industry and learned how to make pizzas from Ila Caudell, who would make pizzas when the restaurant was Ken’s.
The community was another element that held weight in their decision to open the restaurant.
“Our biggest thing is that we want to try to give something back to the community,” Boren said. “More than anything, we want to provide (the community) with excellent service and high quality food.”
With the opening of the new restaurant came new hires. Through its renovation and staffing, Corleone’s has provided 25 people some kind of work.
“The need (for jobs) is so great in our community,” Boren said.
The restaurant will open at 10:30 a.m. daily and will offer a lunch buffet. The pub will stay open until midnight each night and the kitchen will close at 11 p.m. On Sundays they will close at 10 p.m.
There will be an outside patio area with a fireplace and a water feature.
Boren said the restaurant’s classification could be somewhere between casual and fast dining.
They wanted to provide a restaurant that people of any age bracket could go to and be able to afford a nice meal.
The menu is on its way to being complete.
“We are taking traditional dishes and putting our own spin on them,” Boren said.
Some unique dishes that will be available from the pasta menu are toasted ravioli, vodka penne, traditional lasagna and spaghetti and fettuccini Alfredo.
Pizzas are served either New York style, which is thinner or Chicago style, which is thicker.
Some of the pizzas available will be the meat mobster, cheese mobster, fajita chicken parmesan, double bacon cheeseburger and even a vegan mobster pizza.
For more information contact the Corleone’s restaurant at (620) 365-3400.
Restaurant has Italian flair
