GREEN BAY, Wis. (NBC 26) -- A new dining option in downtown Green Bay, conceptualized during the peak of the pandemic, has just opened. The owner of the Republic Chophouse, which has been a staple downtown for over a decade, is now introducing his customers to an Italian restaurant called Mangiare.
Just off of North Adams Street in downtown Green Bay a project ten months in the making is ready for the public to see.
"So the building has been remodeled completely from front to back," says Patrick Neph the co-owner of Mangiare Italian Restaurant.
Neph also owns the Republic Chophouse about a block away from his new restaurant, and he says by opening this Mangiare he'll be able to offer many of his employees more hours, following a year of not enough work.
"I'd like to see as much as 40 percent or more to be full-time," says Neph.
The two restaurants will be sharing staff according to Neph, and as more employees log more hours they'll be able to offer many of their workers' full-time benefits.
"I mean it was one of the driving forces behind doing this second restaurant, to give our people more opportunities and more access to benefits."
Thursday marks day one of their soft opening which will last through Saturday and one of the main focuses for staff is to make the experience family-friendly.
"This would be something where we bring our family to. Our younger children to. Because everyone, all of our young kids will eat spaghetti."
