SNOQUALMIE – One of the biggest questions in Snoqualmie in recent weeks hasn’t been about the proposed casino or whether spring would ever arrive.

It was: When is that Italian restaurant going to open up?

The answer is: today.

Gianfranco Ristorante Italiano is the latest addition to the city’s downtown business core. Owners Gianfranco and Rhonda Bafaro have been working since October to remodel the space at 8150 C Railroad Ave. S.E. into a restaurant. They bought the building the restaurant is situated in more than a year ago.

“We did everything new. Everything’s from scratch,” said Gianfranco. “There used to be offices here.”

This is the fourth restaurant for Gianfranco and Rhonda. They started Il Paesano in Seattle in 1985, selling it in 1996. They created Calabria in Kirkland in 1988, which they still manage. And they ran Il Monello in Issaquah from 1993-1996.

It was a visit to the Salish Lodge and Spa that convinced the Bafaros, who live near Ames Lake, to open a restaurant in Snoqualmie, which they said would help expand the culinary choices available locally. They also knew there was demand for an Italian restaurant.

“We already have lots of customers in Kirkland that come from here,” Gianfranco said.

Gianfranco Ristorante Italiano, which can seat about 40, offers food reminiscent of southern Italy, where Gianfranco lived before moving to the United States. The menu includes gourmet pizzas, special pastas and dinners of veal, pork, chicken, seafood, steak and lamb. Entree prices range from $10 to $23.

“It’s hometown Italian cooking,” Rhonda said.

Gianfranco said other restaurants have attempted to copy his dishes, but they’re not always able to get them right.

“Most of the recipes I make up,” he said.

Running restaurants is a family affair for the Bafaros. Gianfranco and daughter Rossana will oversee the Snoqualmie restaurant, while Rhonda will continue to manage Calabria in Kirkland. The couple have three daughters and a son.

Gianfranco Ristorante Italiano kicked off its Snoqualmie opening with a preopening reception Tuesday, April 9. It will serve its first customers April 11, and Rhonda believes business will be brisk.

“This is going to be a hit. I think people are really going to like it,” she said.

* Gianfranco Ristorante Italiano, (425) 888-6621, serves lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. Dinner is served nightly from 5-10:30 p.m.

You can reach Barry Rochford at (425) 888-2311, or e-mail him at barry.

rochford@valleyrecord.com.