Lyric Opera of Kansas City concludes its dynamic 57th season with Giacomo Puccini's vibrant Tosca, April 18, 22, 24 and 26 at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. The production will be sung in Italian with English and Italian titles.   General Director and CEO Deborah Sandler stated, "The 2014-15 season is the season of emotionally...

Silicon Valley in California and Silicon Alley in New York are not the only tech ecosystems in America where an Italian entrepreneur can find exciting opportunities to grow. It depends on the kind of business you are into. That's the lesson learned by Davide Rossi, a 38-years-old Italian mechanical engineer from Badia Polesine, a small town close t...

Ivan Marquez has built a strong following with two Overland Park restaurants — one full-service, the other fast-casual. Now he's expanding with a third restaurant. But this one is in Gladstone.   Marquez and Marco Diaz plan to open Diego's Bar & Grill on Friday, in the former Tanner's Bar & Grill space at 6024 N.E. Antioch Road,...

by Libby Hanssen   "Andiamo reali! Go Royals!" cheered music director Michael Stern at the Kansas City Symphony's "Festa Italiana" performance on Friday night, happening concurrent to the Royals' ultimately successful battle for the American League pennant.   The turnout in Helzberg Hall was good, even so, and the orchestra with the K...

Mrs. Kemoll introduced our city to Sicilian fare in 1927 in the intimate curtained-off dining room adjacent to her living quarters -- cozy, but with room to grow in elegance. Four generations later, Kemoll's Italian Restaurant has sophistication covered: • $55 for $100 to spend on food and drink for two • Dazzling panorama of the Arch and city from...

To enter Basso you descend a broad, curving stairwell into a cavernous basement. Gas lamps flicker along the wall, casting long, dancing shadows on the diners seated in the booths beneath them. Is it 1897? No. The massive bar at the center of the dining room is a wholly modern creation, with sleek liquor bottles and a distinctive tap handle for eac...

Fintan Molloy, owner of Brookside's Blue Grotto, says the seven-year-old restaurant is turning its focus away from pizza. The new menu will emphasize steak, fish and burgers. And a new name is on the horizon: Bia, the Gaelic word for food. Molloy says the transition to the new name will not be immediate.   "The Blue Grotto's primary clientel...

On the corner of Wilson and Marconi a tavern was built and operated by Anheuser-Busch as early as 1902. With the onset of Prohibition, it was considered a bad investment to continue operation. So the business was sold and purchased by the Merlo family and was named Merlo's. In Italy, Merlo and his family were farmers and worked pitching hay.  ...

By Valerie Schremp   Bart Saracino Sr. came to America from a small farming town near Rome with $7 in his pocket, a suitcase of clothing, and a willingness to learn and give.   Over the decades, he would raise four sons and become the Bart of the Bartolino's Italian restaurants: Bartolino's South in south St. Louis County and Bartol...

by Marianne Peri-Sack   The selection of Miss Italian St. Louis and Miss Junior Miss Italian St. Louis was held at an annual pageant on Sunday, July 27, at St. Ambrose Church basement.   The requirements included being of ¼ Italian descent and submission of an essay on the subject – "Why do I want to be crowned Miss Italian St. Louis...