photo by: Johnny C's Deli & Pasta

Italian-style sandwiches will be part of the menu at the new Johnny C’s Deli & Pasta in downtown Lawrence.

I have had lasagna to go many times — if you count what’s left on my shirt as I’m leaving the restaurant. But a new venture in downtown Lawrence is doing true Italian takeout.

Johnny C’s Deli & Pasta is opening at 623 Vermont St. It’s grand opening is Tuesday, and it will feature lasagna, chicken Parmesan, specialty sandwiches like muffaletta and Italian beef, and even classic Italian desserts like cannoli.

What it won’t have is any indoor tables. The restaurant actually is based out of the basement of Dempsey’s Burger Pub. Its kitchen is located there, and the venture is counting on most of its business either being carry-out or delivery through third-party services like DoorDash or GrubHub.

If you haven’t thought of Italian being to-go food, maybe you haven’t hung out with enough Italians. That’s not a problem for Pete Sorrentino, who is part of the family business that has owned Dempsey’s since late 2018.

“We have a very large Italian family,” Sorrentino said. “We just had our family reunion, and there were 200 Italians there.”

So the idea of the Sorrentinos bringing Italian food to downtown Lawrence wasn’t a hard one to conceive. Making it primarily a take-out venture — there is a covered patio that Johnny C’s customers can use — also wasn’t too difficult of a decision.

“Italian travels well,” Sorrentino said. “It holds well, and it heats well.”

photo by: Johnny C’s Deli & Pasta

A lasagna dish from Johnny C’s Deli & Pasta is shown.

But the bigger factor in the take-out and delivery model is that consumers love getting their food that way. Ever since the pandemic struck, figuring out how to do to-go food well has been a must-do for many restaurants.

That was true for Dempsey’s, Sorrentino said. Dempsey’s was struggling to produce its to-go orders in its kitchen on its main dining floor, so it added a kitchen in the basement to focus on to-go orders. But Sorrentino said it was clear that the venture needed to add another line of food to create enough volume to make the second kitchen feasible.

Thus, enter an Italian connection.

Some of you familiar with the Kansas City Italian dining scene perhaps have heard of Johnny C’s. It has had a location near downtown Kansas City, Mo. for more than 30 years. The family that founded and still runs Johnny C’s is a close family friend of the Sorrentinos. A partnership was born.

Sorrentino said the Kansas City restaurant is a great model for success. It is in a downtown area and has a great clientele for lunch, with many blue-collar and office workers stopping by to get food to take back to the job.

“They have a line out the door every day for lunch,” he said.

Sorrentino said he’s looking to create that same type of atmosphere in Lawrence. He thinks the menu will appeal to everybody from office workers and retail clerks to construction crews and other worksite employees that are in or near downtown Lawrence regularly.

The Italian menu also is almost ready made for office functions and other catered events.

“We can do trays full of lasagna and meatballs and so many other things,” Sorrentino said.

The Lawrence location will be open for dinner, as well. Plans call for the restaurant to be open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Hours will be a little different the first week of operations as the restaurant hones its operations, Sorrentino said.

As for Dempsey’s, it will continue in its ground floor location and will keep its focus on gourmet hamburgers, beer and other pub offerings.

Sorrentino said that business has bounced back from what was a very challenging period during the pandemic. Now, he said he’s excited to offer even more food options in downtown, and particularly is pleased that it is a food that ties in well with his family’s traditions.

“Food is huge to us,” he said. “I grew up with Sunday pasta with my family every week. There is nothing better than pasta and conversation. This just really hit home.”

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

Johnny C’s Deli & Pasta is located in the basement of the Dempsey Burger Pub building at 623 Vermont Street in downtown Lawrence.