Olivella's didn't have to look too far to find its new home — the Camp Bowie Italian restaurant, formerly located at The Village at Camp Bowie, is moving just down the street to Dough Boy Donuts' former space at 4910 Camp Bowie Blvd.
The restaurant is reopening Thursday, downsizing to a smaller space about a third the size of its previous home, and shifting to just delivery and carry-out — no dine in.
"It was a logistical decision. That space we had was a little too big for us. The pandemic has really shown what our strengths are, and that was in delivery and carrying out," says Simon Holguin, director of operations at Olivella's. "We figured out, Why swim upstream when you can let the market help you out?"
Moving to a new space also offered the opportunity to make tweaks to the menu. Holguin says the restaurant has dusted off some old family recipes, bringing back offerings like the Al Gorgonzola pizza, topped with housemade mozzarella, gorgonzola, pears, and walnuts.
There have also been a lot of requests for wings, so Olivella's has added wings to the menu — "more of a dipping kind of wing versus a sauces kind of wing," Holguin says. Options include cheesy garlic, smokey Pomodoro, and creamy pesto.
The new space will function as a wine shop as well, promising an extensive selection of hard-to-find brands that can be purchased in-store or delivered.
Olivella's is also planning to experiment with new featured pizzas, Holguin says, "trying some new ideas, bringing New World to Old World recipes."
The full menu is available at olivellas.com.
