Though owner Willie Stewart had no intention of opening Rocco’s Italian Kitchen, he couldn’t resist bringing his restaurant concept to Flower Mound after seeing the highly desirable location.

“If [you've been] looking and scouting locations for 30 years, an endcap on a high visibility corner can't help but draw your attention,” Stewart said.

Since opening in Flower Mound in 2024, Rocco’s has served scratch-made Italian dishes and strives to treat all customers like family, Stewart said.

“When people see us smile,” he said. “When we thank them for being here, when we ask them to come back, they know it's genuine.”

What they offer


The restaurant serves dishes made fresh everyday, Stewart said. Some favorites include chicken parmesan, baked ziti and Rocco’s trio, which is a sampler platter including meatballs, lasagna and ravioli.

“Everything’s made from scratch except for the [pasta],” Stewart said. “What we do here is not easy and it’s very labor intensive but it’s done with love.”

Stewart said he was worried about not making pasta from scratch, but his friend Rocco Sofio, who the restaurant is named after, told him to forget about it.

“[Sofio] said ‘your marinara is the definition of great marinara,’” Stewart said. “[He said] it would cover up everything. And he’s right. A great marinara [and] a good commercial pasta is a great pasta.”


Sofio owned an Italian restaurant in Flower Mound on Long Prairie Road about 12 years ago, Stewart said. He’s from New York but his family is from Italy and they owned multiple Italian restaurants around the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

“He also worked with the chef a little bit to make sure we are as authentic as we can be for our price points,” Stewart said.

Zooming in

Stewart opened the first Rocco’s in Richardson with chef and business partner Javier Muniz in 2020. Stewart owned a catering company at the time, but it wasn’t receiving any business due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


“My chef at the catering company called me around June and he said [he wanted] to open an Italian restaurant,” Stewart said. “I told him he was insane.”

Despite the pandemic leading to many restaurants shutting down, Rocco’s Italian Cafe opened in Richardson August 2020, Stewart said.

The Flower Mound restaurant opened May 22, 2024.

“This was really a hit from day one and I was welcomed with open arms by the community,” Stewart said.


What’s else?

Stewart said he’s not planning on expanding to any more locations.

“I'm 66 years old,” he said. “I want to run these the best I can.”

Along with his two Italian restaurants, Stewart owns the Wizard Sports Cafe in Richardson and Toadies Bar and Grill in Bedford.


He also does catering out of all the stores he owns, offering Italian food, brisket, ribeye steaks, pot roast, stuffed bell peppers, meatloaf, Mexican food and breakfast food.