In this 2014 file photo, Armando Paniagua cooks at the former Genovese restaurant in downtown Lawrence, which is reopening.

Replace the salsa with marinara, and get out the time machine. The owners of La Parrilla have closed that downtown Latin American restaurant and will use the space to reopen their once-popular Italian eatery, Genovese, which closed in 2019.

Armando Paniagua, an owner of the restaurant company, said he and his fellow owners had come to an unmistakable conclusion that led them to the change.

“We found out there are too many Latin, Mexican, taquerias in Lawrence,” Paniagua said.

(In fairness, you have to have a lot just to serve everyone. All-you-can-eat chips and salsa makes the average meal time approximately 18 hours.)

I suspect there are many Mexican restaurants coming to the same conclusion that La Parrilla’s owners have, but not many have what that group has: an Italian cook already on staff. Paniagua has been cooking Italian food for more than 20 years and was one of the masterminds behind the menu at the original Genovese restaurant in Lawrence. But a bulk of his training came at a popular San Francisco restaurant that used to send him to Italy every two years to sample and learn about the food there.

He used that training to come up with some dishes that aren’t among your standard finds at an American Italian restaurant. Items like zucchini chips and risotto fritters were popular items at the original Genovese, which was at 941 Massachusetts St. (now home to Molcajete’s Mexican restaurant).

Paniagua said the new Genovese — which will be located in La Parrilla’s old spot at 712 Massachusetts St. — will feature many of those popular recipes of yesteryear. In addition, it will try to incorporate some seafood, which isn’t always the norm for Italian restaurants in the area. Skillet mussels are expected to be on the menu, fried calamari was popular at the old restaurant, and tuna tartare also is an expected dish at the new restaurant.

Of course, pasta will be a staple. Paniagua said the restaurant plans to have a mix of fresh and dried pastas. The restaurant will have both a lunch and dinner menu and will offer salads and paninis, especially as part of its lunch menu.

In this 2014 file photo, grilled octopus antipasti is pictured at the former at Genovese Italian restaurant.

Unlike the old restaurant, though, the new Genovese won’t serve pizzas. The smaller space doesn’t work well for a pizza oven, but there’s also another reason.

“There’s a lot of pizzerias everywhere too,” Paniagua said.

Work is already underway to convert the space into an Italian restaurant. Paniagua actually was in the middle of painting when I stopped by and talked with him. He said plans call for Genovese to open in about 10 days.

He said the owners are excited about the next chapter. While there are fewer Italian restaurants in Lawrence than Mexican, Paniagua thinks Genovese will stand out from the ones that do exist, in part, because he’s spent a lot of time tasting Italian food from Italy.

“Something that I got from my family and mom is that I’ve got a good palate, and I learn fast” he said. “Everybody has their own little turn to (a dish), but I really try to stick to what it is over there.”

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

Armando Paniagua does some painting outside of the new location for Genovese Italian restaurant in downtown Lawrence, which is expected to open in early May.

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In other news, briefly, you may notice there is a new boutique in the process of opening next door to the Genovese site. Season Seven is set to open this weekend at 714 Massachusetts St. It is owned and operated by a mother-daughter duo who have been in the boutique business in Leavenworth. I’ve interviewed one of the owners. Look for more information early next week.