Popular cafe to open new Lexington location next to sister restaurant in Hamburg
A third location of a popular Lexington restaurant from a legend in local dining for nearly 40 years will open in the Hamburg area.
Bella Cafe & Grille plans to open a new location at 2200 War Admiral Way in the Hamburg shopping area near Winchester Road and Sir Barton Way.
Kuni Toyoda, president and owner of the Bella Notte Restaurant Group, which also includes Bella Notte, Smashing Tomato and Crust, said the group hopes to open the new restaurant by the end of September. Toyoda said in an email they decided to expand in Hamburg “since the area has been growing.”
Bella Cafe, which won over foodies with its burgers and salads when it opened in December 2020 in Chevy Chase, expanded to a second location at the Fountains at Palomar in September 2023.
The third restaurant will be next to sister restaurant Smashing Tomato — they are both owned by Bella Notte Restaurant Group — in the former Norwalk Furniture & Design store. Norwalk’s lease ended, and they moved to a new location at 125 Clay Ave. in November 2024.
“Hamburg is such a fast-growing area of town,” Jillian Richards, director of marketing and training for the Bella Notte Restaurant Group, said in an email. “It just felt right to bring a Bella Cafe & Grille to this area of town. When this location came available, it was as if it was meant to be.”
Renovations have started for the 3,877-square-foot restaurant, which is more than double the other two Bella Cafe restaurants.
“The Hamburg location will offer the same beloved dishes and inviting ambiance our guests have come to expect,” Richards said. “In addition, we’ll be introducing exciting new menu offerings and unveiling a stunning, fully enclosed patio designed for year-round enjoyment.”
Toyoda also noted the menu will have seasonal specials. Toyoda is known as an innovative local restaurateur who came up with unlimited breadsticks at his five Fazoli’s franchises in the early 1990s.
Recently, he relaunched a COVID casualty, Crust, a wood-fired pizza and pasta restaurant that opened in Beaumont.
