The Old Spaghetti Factory, a more than half-century-old restaurant chain known for its Italian dishes, three-course meals and dining rooms that feature trolley cars as seating areas, is expanding to Colorado Springs.
Based in Portland, Ore., the family owned and family themed Old Spaghetti Factory will take over a free-standing building at the First & Main Town Center, east of Powers Boulevard and South Carefree Circle on the city’s east side. The building has been vacant since the Fox & Hound sports bar closed in late 2019.
The Old Spaghetti Factory hopes to open in mid to late summer, said Kiana Dussin, a social media and public relations marketing manager. She’s a daughter of owner Chris Dussin and a granddaughter of the late Guss and Sally Dussin, who founded The Old Spaghetti Factory in 1969 in Portland.
The chain now has 41 locations in 13 states, which includes a longtime presence in the Denver area.
The Old Spaghetti Factory operated in downtown Denver for about 40 years before closing in 2018 after losing its building lease, Kiana Dussin said. A second location continues to operate in Westminster after opening in 2017.
The Old Spaghetti Factory sought to expand to Colorado Springs because of the city’s booming population and healthy economy, Dussin said.
“For Colorado Springs, it really just came down to that it’s a great market for us,” she said. “It’s a growing city. There’s a lot of families. And the economy is growing.”
The former Fox & Hound building’s ample size fit well with The Old Spaghetti Factory’s concept, she said. The chain also had taken over a former Fox & Hound in Wichita, Kan.
The building will have about 8,700 square feet after it’s remodeled, according to a proposal submitted to city government planners that details the property’s makeover.
As part of the remodeling, a patio area will be enclosed, while The Old Spaghetti Factory will install a to-go window that will allow customers to pick up orders without coming inside the restaurant.
The to-go window will be a first for the chain; like many restaurants, The Old Spaghetti Factory shifted gears from dine-in service to pickup and delivery during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic two years ago, Dussin said.
“We used to focus a lot on dine-in and large banquets and families and bigger groups,” she said. “We had to switch more to to-go. And so, it was just trying to find a rhythm in all of that. But we’re very fortunate to be opening another location now. And now that dine-in is coming back, we’re just looking to be able to do both dine-in and to-go business.”
The Old Spaghetti Factory specializes in family style meals, Dussin said. Every entrée — such as spaghetti, lasagna and fettuccine alfredo — are served with fresh-baked bread, soup or salad and a scoop of spumoni or vanilla ice cream for dessert.
The Colorado Springs location will have indoor seating for about 325 people, which will include a trolley car replica with booth seating.
Trolley cars have become a signature feature in Old Spaghetti Factory dining rooms, Dussin said.
The original Portland location included a refurbished trolley car used as a seating area inside its larger dining room, according to the chain’s website. Since then, the chain has included authentic and replica cars in its dining rooms, which offer additional booths and tables.
For its Colorado Springs restaurant, a replica trolley car will be manufactured in a design warehouse in Portland, Dussin said. It then will be shipped to the Springs restaurant and installed in its dining room, she said.
The restaurant will employ about 125 full- and part-time people, Dussin said.
The Old Spaghetti Factory is one of several chains that have entered the Colorado Springs market in recent years, where competition already was fierce among existing national and regional brands and local mom-and-pop restaurants.
Dussin, however, said she believes The Old Spaghetti Factory will carve out a niche in the market.
“For us, it really comes down to our guest experience,” she said. “We compete because of our prices, our value, our service and our food and our quality.”
