BROOKHAVEN — Natchez native Michael Mascagni soon will open an Italian restaurant in downtown Brookhaven.

Final touches are being made at the future home of Mascagni’s Pasta Junction in the Inez Hotel building downtown.

Mascagni said the new restaurant will feature traditional Italian cuisine as well as more Americanized pasta fare.

Mascagni is no rookie to the restaurant business. With his brother, Modie, he founded Natchez’s Lil Dagos’ restaurant in 2006.

He recently sold his interest in Lil Dagos’ to Modie and was looking to branch out on his own.

He hopes the new venture will be serving up pasta to the public by the third week of April but says that could change.

“Things can happen that are out of my control,” Mascagni said. “I will not open the doors unless I am absolutely ready.”

Mascagni said deciding to bring a new restaurant to Brookhaven was not an easy.

“I spent a lot of time choosing between McComb and Brookhaven,” he said. “In the end, I saw there was more of a need in Brookhaven. But it was not a decision made overnight.”

Mascagni plans to hire a staff of approximately 18.

For the initial weeks he said the restaurant will be open for dinner Monday through Friday and for lunch and dinner on Saturday.

Later, he’ll open up for lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday. Based on his experience with Lil Dagos’ in Natchez, Mascagni said he plans to ease his Brookhaven crew into a lunch and dinner schedule.

He’s been working to redecorate the interior of the building with a fresh coat of paint to the walls and upgrades to the kitchen.

He’s left the ceiling untouched, citing its aesthetic qualities. Framed black and white photos of Brookhaven’s past decorate the walls.

“I think people really like looking at those kind of pictures,” he said.

 

The Daily Leader newspaper in Brookhaven contributed to this article