Johnson County Italian restaurant closed after 62 years. Here’s what’s replacing it
Steve’s Villa Capri had a 62-year-long run in Overland Park. Then, the Italian restaurant stopped serving supreme pizzas and packed up its checkered tablecloths after its last day in May.
The windows have been dark in its 10412 Mastin St. space until recently. Passersby may have noticed a new banner hanging outside:
1981 K-Chicken coming soon.
Kue-Jin Hwang’s restaurant is certainly a departure from the pasta and sandwiches the space once knew. But with Kansas City’s interest in other Korean fried chicken restaurants — like new Overland Park arrivals Prime Sushi and Korean BBQ Chicken at 13611 Metcalf Ave. and CM Chicken at 6601 W. 135th St. — Hwang hopes the restaurant will be a success.
If all goes as planned, it will open in January.
“We’re just very excited,” Hwang said.
Korean chicken is typically slightly crispier and crunchier than its American counterpart, often smothered in a tangy sauce.
In addition to fried chicken, with a variety of sides and sauces, K-Chicken will sell Korean beer, giving it a pub-style atmosphere. K-Chicken will also sell rice cakes and Korean ramen.
The restaurant’s new banner features three cartoon chickens draping their wings around each other. The characters are meant to represent Hwang and his two buddies/business partners: Sung Jo and Kyoungmin Kim.
K-Chicken is the trio’s first business venture together.
“We’ve talked about doing our business for a long time, and we haven’t really got up and did it, so now we’re doing it,” Hwang said.
The Korean Kansas Citians have been friends for 20 years, Hwang said. All were born in 1981 (hence the restaurant’s name).
Their dream is to continue expanding across the metro, Hwang said, and they’re already plotting to open another Korean chicken spot in the Kansas City area. The friends also hope to add coffee and boba shops to their portfolio.
“That’s the ultimate goal,” Hwang said.
Villa Capri first opened in downtown Overland Park in 1961, then owned by Anthony “Tony” Scudiero.
His son, Steve Scudiero, had worked in the restaurant in various capacities since he was 12 and took ownership of the restaurant in 2012. Scudiero’s church met at the old restaurant for a period of time, calling themselves Church of the Checkered Tablecloths.
In The Star’s story last year featuring Kansas City’s oldest restaurants, Scudiero outlined his “secret to success”:
“Consistency, the friendliness, the family atmosphere. A lot of customer service, that’s a big thing,” Scudiero said. “We treat everyone like family.”
The restaurant announced it was closing last May with a brief Facebook post: “Dearest Friends, Staffing has once again hit us. We have decided to close the restaurant as of today’s lunch, May 25th. We can’t thank you enough!”
