The Italian restaurant Scottibelli’s is moving to a newly purchased building in downtown Kalispell, two blocks south from its current leased location.
Renato Scottibelli opened the restaurant on Main Street in 2009, offering Italian cuisine and wine and developing a devoted following. His purchase of the new digs at 302 South Main St., which currently housed Genki Restaurant, was financed by Whitefish Credit Union and Montana and Idaho Community Development Corporation, a nonprofit financing company that helps entrepreneurs who can’t obtain financing, in full or in part, from a traditional lender.
The new restaurant is expected to open in early 2018.
Scottibelli moved to the U.S. from Naples, Italy, in 1972, and settled down in the Flathead after operating successful restaurants in New York and California.
“I fell in love with Montana, and I knew that the Flathead Valley was a place where I could retire and still cook the food I love,” Scottibelli said. “I feel incredibly fortunate that the Kalispell community has embraced my traditional Italian cooking and appreciates the relaxed, family-friendly atmosphere that my staff and I have worked so hard to create.”