Fabiola's
A round table set with white tablecloth, white plates and wine goblets.
A place setting from Fabiola's soft open party in September.
It’s been in the works for over a year, but Fabiola’s Spaghetti House and Deli is on the verge of opening. You may have seen the doors open, and owner Sam Brown is quietly starting up the sandwich shop/deli side of the business. The deli side will be officially open sometime next week, but Brown doesn’t want to commit to a firm date. But if you are in the neighborhood and the door is open at 1301 Regent St., chances are you may be able to order a sandwich.
Brown, who also owns and operates Leopold’s Books Bar Caffe next door, has been working on the Fabiola’s concept since January 2022.
The renovations for the restaurant, in the former Rocky Rococo space on Regent, have included installing the Art Deco bar and backbar, from the early 1930s, from the Sportsman’s Bar on Monona Drive, which was slated for demolition. The team also salvaged much of the woodwork for use in the new Fabiola’s.
Brown’s father, Roger, founded Rocky’s in 1974, with partner Wayne Mosley. The renovations in the Regent Street space are being done by a group who built the first Rocky’s, on Gilman Street.
“They’re tremendous craftsmen, but I wouldn’t say that speed is our forte,” says Brown. “They’ve fully restored the bar and back bar, and that’s become a key component in the space.” It serves as the inspiration for Fabiola’s idea, he says.
Fabiola's
A group of people making a toast at the Fabiola's bar.
A toast during the Fabiola's soft open party in September.
Brown lives in the neighborhood and is president of the board of directors of the Neighborhood House Community Center on Mills Street. “I wanted Fabiola’s to be evocative of the Greenbush Neighborhood, which was historically a neighborhood of Italians and Jews.”
The deli counter will open at 10 a.m. and serve “quick-service sandwiches, salads, and soup,” says Brown. Diners will order at the counter and have their food brought out to them, and they can sit in the Fabiola’s dining room or in Leopold’s.
A wide array of hot and cold sandwiches with plenty of vegetarian options will be on the menu. There will also be a nod to the neighborhood’s traditional Jewish population with an all-day breakfast featuring lox, smoked whitefish and sturgeon and latkes, as well as eggs Benedict and espresso. Italian meats are being imported from Italy; lox comes from Ducktrap and whitefish from Schwarz Fish Company in Sheboygan. The deli will close at 3 p.m.
Brown doesn’t expect the full service restaurant side of Fabiola’s to open until late November, but when everything is up and running, at 4 p.m. the space will transform to a dining room with table service and a completely different menu: “steak and chops, veal parm, Chicken Vesuvio,” Brown says.
The restaurant will seat about 60, with 18 seats at the bar; there will be house special cocktails and an extensive wine list.
Check for updates on the official opening of the deli and full service dinner service on the restaurant’s website or Instagram page.
