Joe Bologna’s

What Joe Bologna’s does

Joe Bologna's Restaurant LLC is a privately held, single-location Italian restaurant and pizzeria based in Lexington, Kentucky, operating continuously since 1973 from a historic 1891 former synagogue at 120 West Maxwell Street, which features 41 original stained-glass windows and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The restaurant serves local Lexington residents and visitors with a full Italian menu (handcrafted round and Sicilian pizzas, homemade pasta dinners, submarines and sandwiches, appetizers, salads, and a beer and wine program), producing most items in-house daily including breadsticks, dough, soups, sauces, and dressings.

The business operates four revenue streams: dine-in restaurant service, online ordering for carryout/curbside and delivery via the SpotOn platform, bespoke catering for private events, and private-party venue bookings. The 17-person operation runs entirely on third-party restaurant technology — SpotOn for ordering and SpotHopper for website and marketing — with no proprietary technology stack, no mobile app, no API, and no AI/ML components. The restaurant is leased from Kaufman Properties, which has owned the building since 1986.

Customer acquisition is driven by organic channels — Google Business presence, Facebook, Instagram, email newsletter, and word-of-mouth — and reviews consistently highlight the unique venue atmosphere, in-house food preparation, and moderate price points (pizzas $8-$39, pasta $12-$25, sandwiches $10-$16). The business is owner-operated with no disclosed investors, no parent company, no franchise activity, and no geographic expansion plans; its strategic posture is best characterized as a stable, legacy local institution incrementally extending its service mix (most recently adding delivery) rather than pursuing growth at scale.

Name

Joe Bologna’s

Legal name

Joe Bologna's Restaurant LLC

Website

https://joebolognas.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1973

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Italian Restaurant

NAICS

Full-Service Restaurants (722511), Caterers (722320)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

Brasseries, Bistros & Trattorias (THAFACAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Ethnic & Regional Cuisine Restaurants (THAFACAD), Pizza Fast Casual (THAFABAB)

Keywords

• Italian restaurant dining
• Pizza carryout delivery
• Catering event services
• Private party hosting
• Casual dining restaurant

Headquarters

HQ city

Lexington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Dine-in Food and Beverage Sales: Revenue from customers dining in the restaurant, ordering from the full menu including pizzas, pasta, sandwiches, appetizers, salads, soups, and desserts along with alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.
2. Online Ordering (Carryout, Curbside, Delivery): Revenue from online orders placed through the restaurant's website using SpotOn platform, with options for customer pickup, curbside service, and delivery.
3. Catering Services: Custom catering for private events including birthday parties, rehearsal dinners, corporate events, and other special occasions. Each catering event is bespoke to customer tastes and needs.
4. Private Party Bookings: Revenue from hosting private events and parties in the restaurant's dedicated spaces.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Joe Bologna's is a single-location Italian restaurant in Lexington, Kentucky, serving homemade pizzas (round and Sicilian pan styles), pasta dinners, submarines, sandwiches, appetizers, salads, and a curated beverage program. The restaurant operates dine-in service from a historic former synagogue, supplemented by online ordering for carryout, curbside pickup, and delivery, plus catering and private party/event hosting.

Product overview

Joe Bologna's is a single-location Italian restaurant offering dine-in, carryout, and delivery services. The core product portfolio includes handcrafted pizzas (available in round thin crust and Sicilian pan styles, with numerous specialty varieties), homemade pasta dinners (lasagne, manicotti, tortellini, and more), submarines and sandwiches, appetizers, salads, and a curated beverage program. Additional services include catering for events, private party hosting, and table reservations. All food items are made in-house daily, including breadsticks, pizza dough, soups, sauces, and salad dressings. The restaurant operates from a historic former synagogue building with preserved stained-glass windows, seating approximately 400 guests across multiple dining areas.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Dine-In Restaurant Service Full-service Italian dining experience in a historic former synagogue featuring 41 original stained-glass windows, offering a casual atmosphere with a full menu of pizzas, pasta, sandwiches, appetizers, salads, and beverages for individual diners and families.
• Online Ordering (Carryout, Curbside, Delivery)

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• SpotOncoreTechnology or IntegrationSpotOn provides the online ordering platform used by Joe Bologna's for customer orders including carryout, curbside pickup, and delivery services. The platform enables customers to order food online through the restaurant's website.
• SpotHoppercoreTechnology or IntegrationSpotHopper provides the restaurant's website design, social media marketing, and email marketing services. The platform powers joebolognas.com and provides accessibility features for the website.
• Kaufman PropertiescoreOthersKaufman Properties owns the property at 120 West Maxwell Street and adjoining buildings. They purchased the synagogue complex in August 1986 and leasing the space to Joe Bologna's Restaurant.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Mellow Mushroom: Pizza-focused casual-dining chain with a full bar and stone-baked pizzas, comparable to Joe Bologna's in menu structure (pizzas, subs, salads, craft beer/wine) and full-service dine-in model.
• &pizza: Modern pizza-forward casual concept with dine-in, carryout, and delivery, offering handcrafted pies and Italian-inspired sides — directly comparable in pizza-centric menu and omnichannel ordering.
• Marco's Pizza: Franchised pizza chain specializing in fresh-made dough and Italian-style pizzas with carryout and delivery, comparable in menu composition and ordering channels.

Broad incumbents

• Buca di Beppo: Family-style Italian full-service chain offering pasta, pizza, and event/party dining — comparable in Italian menu breadth and group/private event hosting, though part of a multi-unit portfolio.
• Olive Garden: Largest U.S. casual-dining Italian chain; overlapping menu (pasta, pizza-adjacent items, full bar) and full-service dining experience, but operating at vastly greater scale and brand recognition.
• California Pizza Kitchen: Casual-dining chain centered on creative pizzas, pastas, and salads with full bar service, directly comparable to Joe Bologna's pizza-and-Italian casual-dining model at broader scale.
• Fazoli's: Italian fast-casual chain serving pizza, pasta, and subs with counter-service ordering and delivery — comparable in Italian-American menu breadth though operating under a limited-service model.

Others

• Domino's: Dominant pizza delivery chain with strong digital ordering technology — a key indirect competitor for delivery orders and a benchmark for the kind of proprietary tech stack Joe Bologna's currently lacks.
• Papa John's: Major pizza delivery and carryout competitor; competes for the same Lexington off-premise pizza demand, particularly relevant now that Joe Bologna's has launched its own delivery service.
• Pizza Hut: Long-established pizza chain with dine-in, carryout, and delivery across the U.S., competing in the same Lexington pizza demand pool, particularly in the family and group segments.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/547172861815539
• Instagraminstagram.com/joebolognasrestaurantllc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/joe-bologna%E2%80%99s

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Joe Bologna’s