New Owners Bring A Dinner Menu To Leo’s

By Kaaren Valenta

When the Iodice family bought Leo’s restaurant on South Main Street earlier this year, they approached the business much as they did when they designed a barn for the house Jerry Iodice built in Newtown two years ago.

“We visited people who had built barns and asked them if they could do it over, what would they change,” John Iodice said. “We designed the barn and built it incorporating those ideas.”

The barn is home to two horses of a breed known as Missouri fox trotters, plus a 12-year-old Vietnamese pot bellied pig named Blossom and two sheep, Lamb Chop and Daisy May, the pets of Jerry’s daughters, Danielle, 14, and Jennie, 12.

So when customers at Leo’s began to make suggestions on how to improve the restaurant, the Iodices listened. When many said the restaurant should serve dinner as well as breakfast and lunch, Jerry Iodice agreed. Now in addition to being open seven days a week from 8 am to 3 pm, Leo’s is also open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 4:30 to 9 pm.

The Iodice brothers – Austin, 60, John, 57, and Jerry, 43 – own Ansa Company, Inc, a firm based in Norwalk that produces infant feeding products – the popular baby bottle with a handle – at its plant in Muskogee, Okla. John lives in Katona, N.Y., Austin in New Canaan.

When Jerry Iodice and his wife, Julie, moved to Newtown with their children from Mahopac, N.Y., two years ago, they began eating at Leo’s. Before long, Jerry decided it would be a great business to own. In July, the Iodices took over, and Jerry embarked on a renovation of the dining room, the enclosed patio, and the kitchen, where he installed an extensive new refrigeration system. When customers asked for improvements to the waiting area, he quickly installed new benches and pavers.

“We moved to Newtown because of the horses and because we love the country and the people,” Mr Iodice said. “We want to keep Leo’s the way it was – it’s almost like a landmark – but make it even better. I found a pot-bellied stove and put it in because it is a symbol of people getting together. I put a pumpkin patch outside and we light it up at night. We have more hours (of operation) and are offering the Leo’s touch at night. ”

Those familiar with Leo’s restaurant were pleased to hear that the staff, the cooks, and the menu remained much the same. But many members of the Iodice family now can be found helping out occasionally at the restaurant including Jerry’s daughters and son, Nick, 18, and John’s grown daughters, who are teachers in Bethel and Yorktown.

Breakfast, served from 8 am to noon, includes a choice of a dozen styles of pancakes and blintzes, a half-dozen malted Belgian waffles – everything from fruit to ham or bacon to ice cream – French toast made with Challah bread, more than a dozen choices of three-egg omelets, most in the $6.25 to $8.25 range. Lunch starts at 11 am and includes traditional and specialty sandwiches, salads, potato kniches, gourmet burgers, and bocco sandwiches made from the restaurant’s round pizza dough grilled with garlic butter and spices, $6.95-9.95. There’s a special menu for children with a half dozen choices priced at $1.95 to $3.95.

The restaurant began serving dinners this month so the menu is still in the development stage and suggestions by the customers are welcomed. So far some of the more popular items include pork chops Southern-style (two large French-cut marinated pork chops topped with onions and cherry peppers and served with fresh sautéed vegetables, mashed potatoes, and applesauce) and The Perfect Storm (Hawaiian Ahi tuna steak and blackened shrimp, served with sautéed vegetables and mashed potatoes). Entrees are served with a choice of garden salad or soup of the day and are priced at $13.95-$16.95. Lighter fare also is available, such as quiche, dinner salads and bocco sandwiches, $8.95-$11.95.

“We plan to do catering in the future as well as serve dinner,” Jerry Iodice said. “We will always keep the menu different by offering lots of specials. If there is a complaint, it is usually that we serve too much food – and as far as Jerry is concerned, that’s okay!”

Leo’s, which prides itself on serving food “Fit for a King,” is open seven days a week. For more information call 426-6881.