BALTIMORE — Joe Benny's version 2.0!
It was June 3 of last year when Joseph Gardella closed up shop at his restaurant in Little Italy.
At the time Gardella said he was putting about 100 hours a week into his business, serving in all roles.
Severely understaffed, he made the tough call to shutdown and recover, both mentally and physically.
MORE: Restaurant owner comes to grips with difficult decision to shut their doors
For Gardella it wasn't goodbye, but rather see ya later, as he always vowed to be back.
On Friday he did just that, by officially announcing his return on Facebook.
Gardella said he and Maryland businessman, Ben Sudano, are partnering up to open a new spot called Benny's this summer.
The new space is just a few doors down from the old Joe Benny's at 300 S. High Street, where Germano's Piattini used to be.
According to Gardella, who proclaims to have "the best (meat) balls on the block," the new menu will have "a Southern Italian twist," cooked up by a new chef.
"To say I'm thrilled is the biggest understatement of all time," said Gardella. "I miss y'all I'm so so happy to be doing this."
