Italian flavor to come to former Blend location

CEDAR RAPIDS  -- A new Italian restaurant opening soon in downtown Cedar Rapids hopes to bring back customers time and again with a simple formula.

Bella will open in midsummer at 221 Second Ave. SE, most likely in July, owner Sal Kaba said.

The site is the former location of Blend.

Kaba began researching potential restaurant locations for expansion in 2008 and picked Cedar Rapids.

He said downtown Cedar Rapids is more than half through its flood recovery and has a disproportionate number of pubs and taverns to quality restaurants. More authentic quality restaurants, he said, will enhance the city's image.

"Quality, quantity and moderate prices" is the magical combination that Kaba says will keep customers coming back.

Kaba's Cafe Bella in Fort Worth offers a wide assortment of veal, chicken, seafood and sub sandwich specialties.

Luncheon specials are priced between $6 and $8. Dinner specials run between $11 and $17 with salad and bread.

Kaba says  portions are ample enough that many customers take some home for the next day. He expects to offer BYOB wine service, at least initially.

The ground floor space includes an outdoor seating area. Kaba plans to do without a cascading water wall that was a central feature of Blend, but otherwise plans relatively few changes to the ground floor space, leased from Steve Emerson.

Blend, which formerly leased the space, operated a short time before the June 2008 flood destroyed the interior. It reopened four months later, only to succumb to reduced downtown traffic and a sluggish economy in January 2010.