Mondo’s Italian Restaurant , a James Island fixture for 27 years, has officially opened its expanded dining room and kitchen after more than two years of renovations and five-week temporary closing for the final push.

The business took over the vacant suite next door in the Shoppes of Folly Road at 915 Folly Road, which now serves as the new entrance, increasing its dining capacity by about 30 percent with a line of banquet seating.

The additional space includes an expanded kitchen outfitted with a hybrid wood-fired Neapolitan -style pizza oven, allowing Mondo’s to serve pizza for the first time, adding new options to Charleston’s ever-growing Italian restaurant scene.

Adding pizza to the menu was a natural fit for owner Chris Orlando , whose family runs the Orlando’s Pizza l

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