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Hello, Eaters! This week, I checked out a new restaurant in Utah County called Di Napoli, a fast-casual pasta and panini place at 29 W. University Parkway in Orem. It was opened by the same family that founded Napoli’s Italian Restaurant in Ogden and Sandy, in 2022 and 2024, respectively.
Franky Qerimi — whose father, Tony Qerimi, brought the Napoli’s brand to Utah from Texas — works in operations for Di Napoli and also manages the Sandy location. His brother Nino Qerimi is one of the managers at Di Napoli.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Nino Qerimi, manager at Di Napoli in Orem, is pictured with one of the many sweet treats available at the new location on Thursday, June 26, 2025.
The Ogden and Sandy restaurants are sit-down, full-service places, Franky Qerimi said. At the Orem restaurant, which opened May 14, you order at the counter and then a staffer brings your food to you.
The menu is a little different at Di Napoli, too. At Napoli’s, you’ll find time-intensive dishes like the chicken niccola, or “what you first think of when you think about Italian,” Qerimi said.
At Di Napoli, the menu features salads, paninis — a new menu item for the Qerimi family’s restaurants — plus pastas that are quicker to turn out, but still made with ”very traditional, very classic, refined recipes,” he said.
Di Napoli has its own vibe as well. The Ogden and Sandy restaurants are more “classic,” Qerimi said, but the Orem spot is “a little bit more modern.” I thought it had the feel of an Italian cafe, with brown leather booths, black wooden chairs and white tables, with photography on the walls.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Nino Qerimi, manager at Di Napoli in Orem, prepares for the lunch rush on Thursday, June 26, 2025.
The food is what really shines at Di Napoli, though. Qerimi said his family worked for four months to develop their own recipe for schiacciata, an Italian flatbread that’s similar to focaccia but is less airy and spongy. Crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside, this tasty bread is the base for all the paninis at Di Napoli. “We think we got it right,” Qerimi said.
I had an incredible lunch at Di Napoli. To read more about my meal, scroll down to the “Dish of the Week” section of this newsletter.
Live deliciously,
Kolbie
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Di Napoli in Orem is pictured on Thursday, June 26, 2025.
Food News
Openings:
• The Garden Restaurant, in the lobby of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building at 15 E. South Temple, reopened Monday, along with other portions of the historic building at Temple Square. With the restaurant’s reopening comes the return of the soft and fluffy Lion House rolls, named for the downtown Salt Lake City restaurant that first created them.
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) The Garden Restaurant, located in the lobby of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, reopened to the public on Monday.
• Strada by Matteo just opened at 30 E. 300 South in downtown Salt Lake City, in the old Toasters space. The latest project by Matteo Sogne — owner of the downtown Italian restaurant Matteo — Strada focuses on pasta and sandwiches. According to Strada’s sparse Instagram profile, the restaurant is open for lunch right now and will be open for dinner in the future.
• Galbi Grill, at 1812 Red Cliffs Drive, opened recently in the Red Cliffs Mall in St. George. This restaurant offers Korean barbecue and hot pot.
Booze (and Drink!) News
(Courtesy photo) Utah Gov. Spencer Cox has appointed Ericka Evans as executive director of the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services (DABS), pending Senate confirmation.
• Utah Gov. Spencer Cox has appointed a new executive director of the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services (DABS) as previous director Tiffany Clason departs for a new position in the private sector. On Friday, the governor’s office announced that Ericka Evans had been chosen to lead the DABS, pending confirmation by the Utah Senate.
Dish of the Week
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Grilled chicken panini, Italian cream cake and lemonade at Di Napoli in Orem, Thursday, June 26, 2025.
For lunch at Di Napoli, I ordered the grilled chicken panini ($17) on the recommendation of Franky Qerimi, who described it as “simple, classic, very elegant.”
Well, it was a delicious choice, made with chicken breast tenderloin, stracciatella cheese, arugula, balsamic glaze and roasted red peppers, on schiacciata bread. The chicken was juicy and seasoned well, balanced perfectly with the sweet, tangy glaze and other panini components.
Just when I thought this meal couldn’t get any better, I took a bite of my slice of Italian cream cake ($8).
OMG, THIS CAKE. Imagine the best blueberry muffin that has ever existed, rich yet somehow light and with a hint of lemon, then put mascarpone cream between two cake-size layers of that muffin. Add fresh berries on the side, and sprinkle powdered sugar over the whole thing.
It was so good I could’ve cried. I ate the whole generous slice, and wished there was more.
Di Napoli makes all of its desserts in-house, including the decadent Italian cream cake. Now I need to go back and try the rest.
