Lucullan’s Italian Grill located on Main Street has been serving the people of Ames for 34 years. This year it is undergoing some major changes. One of the changes is new ownership. Jonathan Reed, current owner of Stomping Grounds, took on the restaurant and made it his own.

Lucullan’s officially became Reed’s possession May 30 of this year. It opened under his ownership in late June.

A new menu, a change of decor and renovations are some of the many changes going on in Lucullan’s, said Melinda Kam, manager of Lucullan’s Italian Grill.

“We repainted everything, painted the chairs and everything, changed table cloths,” Kam said. “We took out the salad bar and changed the whole menu. The menu was very large before. We cut that down to a smaller menu that will change seasonally.”

With the addition of a lunch hour, an all-Italian wine list and fresh pasta, a new menu might not be all that’s in store for this old restaurant with a new feel.

“The downstairs will be the bar and casual dining area of Lucullan’s,” Reed said. “We’ll focus on classic cocktails with simple fresh ingredients, a great selection of unique wine and beer, as well as excellent espresso.” 

As of now, business is steady. Without the use of major advertising, word of mouth is the main way Lucullan’s is getting its name out there, Kam said.

“Business has been steadily increasing since re-opening,” Reed said. “The pace has been, for the most part, just right. I didn’t want to get too busy too quickly to make sure balancing the two places would go as planned.”

Lucullan’s Italian Grill should be up and running 100 percent within the next few weeks. Customers can enjoy the best of both worlds with a fancy Italian dinner upstairs and a casual Italian bistro downstairs, Kam said.