By Randy Tucker
The Cincinnati Enquirer

KENWOOD - After much speculation, Maggiano's Little Italy restaurant confirmed Monday that it has signed a lease agreement at Kenwood Towne Centre and will open this fall.

Maggiano's officials acknowledged several months ago that they were looking at Kenwood as a possible location for the restaurant chain's first Ohio store, but no lease had been signed and mall operators refused to confirm that they were negotiating with the chain.

Mall officials could not be reached for comment Monday.

But a spokesman for Maggiano's Dallas-based parent, Brinker International, said the restaurant - known for its southern Italian fare and banquet-style dining facilities - is set to join the Kenwood lineup.

"As far as I know, the lease has been signed," Brinker's Louis Adams said. "We'll be opening in October."

Maggiano's will join The Cheesecake Factory as the second major restaurant to anchor the mall's new 100,000-square-foot "Streetscape" addition.

The outdoor pad wrapped around the front of the mall will feature several new stores, including women's apparel retailers Forever 21 and Sigrid Olsen.

With red-checked tablecloths and family portraits on the walls, Maggiano's touts its menu as a mix of "Old and New World southern Italian recipes" and its ambience as "reminiscent of pre-World War II Little Italy."

The 28-store chain with more than $250 million in annual revenues was founded in Chicago in 1991. Brinker, which also operates Romano's Macaroni Grill and Chili's Grill & Bar, among other chains, acquired Maggiano's in 1995.

It has expanded the chain aggressively in many major markets, including Dallas, Houston, Tampa, Atlanta and Denver.

Maggiano's picked Kenwood for its first Ohio store primarily because of the heavy retail traffic in the area and desirable demographics, Adams said.

"With any of our restaurants, we're looking for an area with a good residential population base, strong retail traffic and a lot of offices nearby," he said.

"We felt Kenwood fit that criteria the best of any potential locations in Cincinnati."

A big part of Maggiano's business is hosting large groups for business meetings, wedding receptions and other celebrations, and each of its restaurants have large banquet rooms set aside that can accommodate groups of 200 or more.

"Too often, if you're trying to hold a rehearsal dinner and bar mitzvah or an anniversary party, your choices for large parties are limited to hotel facilities," Adams said. "Maggiano's can accommodate large parties and serve better food than you would get in a hotel."

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E-mail rtucker@enquirer.com