Venecia's Italian Kitchen is at 210 E. Main St. in Kilgore.

KILGORE — The owners of downtown Kilgore’s newest restaurant say they enjoy the small-town vibes and also enjoy operating the city’s only Italian eatery.

Venecia’s Italian Kitchen officially opened Feb. 13.

“It was amazing,” owner Edona Berisha said of opening day. “Obviously, it was new servers and a new system for them to use — same with the back. It’s a brand new kitchen that we’ve built, so we are still learning, like, ‘Where did we put our pasta, where did we put our tomatoes? So they’re still learning the locations, such as where they stock everything, but it went really well.”

Berisha admits that at first, she wanted nothing to do with the restaurant business. Her family has been in the business for 30 years, and she first started working with her parents at 12. She had gotten married, was working and going to college when her dad told her husband, Beslir, to come in and learn.

“He was like, ‘Let me just teach you everything because you never know,’ ” Berisha said. “That’s my dad’s thing; he’s like, get a degree. If you want to do the restaurant business, still get your degree because he’s like, ‘You never know which one’s going to work out.’ ”

Berisha’s family was originally from Europe before moving to New Jersey and opening a pizza joint. When the family finally came to Texas, they opened what was among the first Italian restaurants in East Texas.

“I got [Beslir] here, we got married, and then we got pulled into the business,” Berisha said.

Her family also owns restaurants in Burleson, Lumberton and Hallsville, with her father overseeing day-to-day operations at the Hallsville location.

The Kilgore restaurant has an upstairs party room that will be used for large private reservations. She recognizes that the upstairs party room will require some time before it is ready for use, so it is closed off for the time being.

Pasta, calzones, chicken, seafood, pizza, salads and soups are on the menu, while desserts include cheesecake, Italian cream cake, homemade cannoli and more.

A lunch special is served 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays. This menu features lasagna, cannelloni and stromboli, all served with salad and bread.

Venecia’s Italian Kitchen is a family-owned business with the goal of providing authentic Italian food in a familiar, family-like setting, the family said.

Berisha and her husband are the sole owners of the restaurant. They said customers can expect a family-friendly atmosphere because the owners and their families will be present every day.

“Even if we’re like, ‘I need a day off the next day,’ we’re still going to be up here,” Berisha said. “We like to make sure everything is running smoothly, and everybody’s happy, so that’s why I’ll be up in the front even though my servers will be checking on all the tables.”

The restaurant is at 210 E. Main St. in and is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.