Downtown restaurant Nonna's under new ownership

Nonna's Italian American Café, at 306 South Ave. in downtown Springfield, has once changed hands.

New owner Shawn Kraft purchased the business on Nov. 2, through his company Captain's Quarters LLC, from current owners Craig and Julia (Ferrell) Anderson. The sale was brokered by Kingsley Group Business Brokers.

The last time Nonna's got new owners, it met with some substantial changes, but Kraft plans to keep the eatery operating as usual.

Nonna's was founded by Mary Faucett and sold in May 2006 to Los Angeles natives Tim Caldwell, Craig Anderson, Marty Almaraz and Julia Ferrell for an undisclosed price.

In a 2006 SBJ article, then-owner Tim Caldwell indicated that he and his partners were planning to address some issues the restaurant was facing by changing up the menu and personnel, and extending hours on certain evenings to cater to downtown theater patrons.

With the latest ownership change, however, customers should notice little difference in the restaurant, which according to www.nonnascafe.com is a full-service, traditional Italian-American restaurant that offers catering and event planning services.

Kraft said he plans to run the restaurant without making any changes, particularly in the kitchen. Julia Anderson, who has a culinary degree, will continue to run the kitchen until further notice and there will be no changes made to the 25-30 person staff, Kraft said. He added that Craig and Julia Anderson are hoping to move their family back to California in the future.

Before jumping into the restaurant business, Kraft co-owned Hooked On Books on South Campbell Ave. with Tom Slattery. Prior to that, he was a business broker with First National Business Corporation.