Springfield Eatly reopens for season, offers new menu items, covered tent outdoor seating

May 24—Eatly, a seasonal Springfield restaurant, has reopened with several new menu items and an enhanced outdoor dining experience.

The restaurant now has covered outdoor dining for about 75 people and indoor dining space for 30 customers, owner Tom Thompson said. He has introduced new menu items, including pizza fritta, fried calamari, shrimp garlic noodles, homemade zeppolis and brioche con gelato.

"You've got to keep things fresh for people, I've noticed, meaning you to to change things up and bring something you've experienced somewhere else, and my motto is everyone that comes and eats there, they know that everything is prepared fresh every day," Thompson said.

Thompson opened the 601 N. Fountain Ave. restaurant in 2021, with the restaurant's name being a play on the country name of Italy and his Sicilian roots. It has since seen a lot of success, with a full house on Friday and Saturday evenings and for Sunday brunch.

Eatly is open Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thompson said reservations are a good idea for dinner time and Sunday brunch.

Thompson said he has introduced some deals to make prices more reasonable, including a family style option that saves customers $10 while getting an appetizer, pasta or primo dish with a house salads, a dessert and a drink. All meals now come with house salads and garlic bread, too.

The brunch menu includes an all inclusive selection of around five different meals and is typically $25, Thompson said.

"It's actually I think more affordable for people and it makes it more of a positive experience to where you pay one price," Thompson said. "... It's a great deal and I kind of wanted to bring that here because it makes it a better experience for someone because they don't have to think about adding stuff up in their head as they're ordering. They already would know going into it how much something is."

Thompson said his favorite pizza the restaurant serves is the pizza fritta with fig, gorgonzola, stir fried onions and bacon. He said he recommends that customers order the zeppoli, fried doughnuts with a dusting of sugar, as soon as they arrive to the restaurant to get them in a timely manner.

Vanilla gelato can be enhanced with cookie dough, homemade strawberry preserves or caramel, Thompson said.

Thompson said he grew up in this area and enjoyed time with his grandmother who cooked traditional Sicilian dishes. He left Ohio after high school and returned about six years ago to care for his parents, opening Eatly in 2021 to honor his heritage. He has always loved to cook and his family has owned restaurants and bakeries in the past.