Gio’s italian Restaurant
Offering Llano an Italian option By Richard Zowie
W
ithin Llano, on Texas 16 just two blocks shy of the Llano River, is a taste of Italy for those who desire the cuisine of Bel Paese.
Open since January 28, 2019, Gio’s Italian Restaurant offers standard Italian fare, along with sandwiches, pizzas, and breadsticks. Ismael Frias, who has been cooking in restaurants for 20 years, moved to Copperas Cove in 2004 and initially worked for his brother. His brother Adrian Frias, along with Maura Pasavento, owned a Giovanni’s Italian Restaurant in Lampasas, and Copperas Cove. “I was looking for a small town and a quiet community and I looked all around and found this
place,” Frias said of Llano. “And I think God brought me here for some reason. Since I was 16 years old, my dream was to have my own restaurant. So, in June 2018 I started to look for a place to open my own restaurant. In July 2018, when I was driving from Fredericksburg to Copperas Cove, I found this wonderful town, Llano. It has a great location and with amazing people who are very friendly.” Frias called the restaurant Gio’s, in honor of the Giovanni’s restaurant where he spent 16 years cooking Italian food. Originally from Mexico, Fria said it took him two years to learn how to cook Italian cuisine. “It was not too difficult to learn it, but also not too easy,” he said. Gio’s continued on page 91 2022 Spring/Summer Page 89
