SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — South Springfield’s Mangia! A Nonna’s Italian Kitchen sold Friday for an undisclosed sum, its new owner told the News-Leader Monday morning.

“It was a good deal,” new owner Nichole Bowen said, “a deal you couldn’t say no to.”

Bowen, head chef, said she and three business partners purchased the former outpost of Nonna’s Italian Cafe, intending to change it to a comfort-food restaurant.

They closed Jan. 20 and will reopen under the Mi Mi’s Place name Feb. 1, she said.

“We’re going to bring in some more American comfort food,” Bowen said, citing a spicy crab macaroni-and-cheese dish as an example.

That kind of food will blend with Italian classics, for example, spaghetti marinara, lasagna, fettuccine alfredo.

Bowen said Shawn Kraft, the previous owner, was keen to focus on his two downtown restaurants, Nonna’s Italian Cafe and Casper’s.

Bowen noted that all current Mangia staff will remain in their jobs as the restaurant transitions into Mi Mi’s Place.

“None of our crew has lost their jobs,” she said. “The family goes on.”

The sale was announced Friday on social media.

(Story shared by Springfield News-Leader. Read the original article here.)