In nearly 40 years, this Berea pizza place has made only one significant menu change

In much the same way that Miguel’s Pizza is synonymous with the Red River Gorge, PapaLeno’s is synonymous with Berea.

Opened in 1984 by the Bellando, Barnett and Stephenson families at 108 Center St., the restaurant has become the go-to Italian dining spot for some of the best garlic bread and pizza for hikers, Berea College students, faculty, and other locals alike. Now owned by brothers and former employees Brad and Jerome Lewis, the eatery continues to find success by not changing and keeping things simple.

“If you’re a specialty restaurant with a six page menu then you aren’t really specializing in anything,” says Jerome Lewis. “We’ve found success by keeping things simple and have no plans to change.”

What is PapaLeno’s known for?

For nearly 40 years, PapaLeno’s menu has remained largely unchanged, because why reinvent the wheel when it’s rolling along just fine? The downtown Berea restaurant serves up everything from wings and soups to various cold, hot and grilled sandwiches along with pastas, lasagna, ravioli, tiramisu and more, all made from original homemade recipes passed down from the business’s original owners.

But what they are really known for are their large homemade bread sticks swimming in garlic butter and pizza made with Italian plum tomatoes.

“There’s a couple things we’ve changed over the years to expedite our processes, but the menu has remained almost completely untouched,” says Jerome Lewis. “I was once told by a wise businessman that ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,’ and our menu and recipes have (been) so spot on that they haven’t needed any changing.”

However, one item has made its way onto the menu over time. Back when he was just an employee in the mid-1990’s, Jerome Lewis concocted the grilled chicken and veggie pasta — spaghetti, chicken strips, olives, peppers, onions and mushrooms tossed with a light garlic butter sauce and olive oil — that he’d regularly eat during his breaks. One day a customer caught a whiff of his creation, leading to Lewis’s culinary secret getting out.

“A curious customer began questioning about it before asking me to make one for them,” says Jerome Lewis. “It quickly caught on so we added it to the menu and it’s been a hit ever since.”

PapaLeno’s deep roots with Berea

Despite not having Italian roots themselves, the Lewis’s deep roots in Berea, strong work ethics and eagerness to learn have helped to propel PapaLeno’s to sustained success and growth.

After the Lewis’ parents moved to Berea in 1958, their father went on to work at the college for 52 years. In the meantime, Jerome’s first job was at the now defunct Mario’s Pizza and Brad has experience working in food distribution at Cisco, all encounters that have and continue to benefit them after two decades at the helm of PapaLeno’s.

But also at the crux of the restaurant’s success has been its proximity and ties to Berea College, which it sits adjacent to at the corner of Center and Estill Streets. Often during busy times, the line to order can stretch out the front door.

With the constant business brought into PapaLeno’s by the college and the popular hiking trails at the Pinnacles in the Berea College Forest, the eatery has expanded twice, now occupying the entire can’t miss corner in the quaint college town.

“We’re so thankful for the support that Berea, and specifically the college, has shown us over the past four decades,” says Jerome Lewis. “They’re constantly bringing colleagues and campus tours here and students regularly stop in to study and grab a bite to eat. It’s been like that since day one. We wouldn’t be here without their patronage.”

PapaLeno’s

Where: 108 Center St., Berea

Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 12-5 p.m. Sunday

Online: PapaLenos.com

This story was originally published July 20, 2022 at 6:00 AM.