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Second Nonna's restaurant coming to south Springfield

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After two years at the helm of the downtown eatery, the owner of Nonna's Italian American Café is planning a mid-December launch for a second location in south Springfield.

Shawn Kraft, who purchased Nonna's in November 2009, said construction, under contract by Springfield-based SMH Construction, is under way at the former location of Schultz & Dooley's Too, 3512 S. National Ave. In a late October article, Springfield Business Journal's media partner KSPR named Schultz & Dooley's Too as a casualty of the city's smoking ban. Schultz & Dooley's owner Charlie Foss could not be reached for comment.

The south National site, located within Bradford Center on the Medical Mile, is owned by South National Centers LLC and managed by Sperry Van Ness/Rankin Co., according to county records. Sperry Van Ness/Rankin senior adviser Mike Fusek declined to disclose lease details.

Kraft said construction work, which began Nov. 1, has consisted of gutting the location and giving it "a complete facelift" to match the downtown restaurant. He declined to disclose costs of the project.

Kraft said the current eatery, 306 South Ave., has become increasingly busy, and customers have had trouble getting in on especially heavy Fridays and Saturdays. The new location, Kraft said, would take some of the load off of the downtown restaurant and provide easier access to customers in southern Springfield.

"It'll be the same as Nonna's, but you'll have parking," Kraft said, noting prices will be identical and the same from-scratch cooking will be implemented.

Kraft said the south-side Nonna's will be managed by his ex-wife Allison Kraft, a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu, and she and D.J. Ball, one of the chefs at the downtown restaurant, will lead the kitchen.

Shawn Kraft added that he has no plans to open additional Nonna's locations and isn't turning the restaurant into a franchise.

Nonna's was founded in 1996 by Mary Faucett, who sold the restaurant in May 2006 to Tim Caldwell, Marty Almaraz, and Craig and Julia Anderson for an undisclosed price. Kraft purchased the eatery from the Andersons, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.
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