Doni’s Italian Restaurant opens in downtown Platte City, serves pasta favorites

Doni’s Italian Restaurant opened on Wednesday, June 24, at 339 Main Street in downtown Platte City, putting a homemade-pasta restaurant and full bar directly across from the Platte County Courthouse. The new spot took over the former Shirley’s Fashion Center space, giving one of Main Street’s most visible buildings a fresh use in a block that already carries heavy civic traffic.

The restaurant is owned and operated by Liridon Mehmeti, who goes by Doni, and city officials approved its liquor license in early April. Doni’s online pitch keeps the concept broad and familiar: “Enjoy homemade Italian favorites including pasta, pizza, seafood, chicken dishes, fresh salads, desserts and a full bar.” That menu mix puts pasta at the center of a classic family-style Italian room rather than treating it like a side note.

The online ordering page backs that up with a dedicated baked pasta section, plus lunch plates such as chicken fettuccine alfredo, shrimp fettuccine alfredo and chicken pomodoro. Seafood pasta also shows up on the menu, including shrimp Napoleoni over penne. The site lists the restaurant’s hours as 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, with Monday closed.

The building itself adds another layer to the opening. It is an 1895 structure, and owner David Barth renovated it before Doni’s moved in. During the work, the interior walls were sandblasted to expose the original brick, turning the project into an adaptive-reuse play as much as a restaurant opening. Barth and his wife have also purchased eight buildings on Main Street over about 2.5 years, starting with the historic Landmark Newspaper building in 2023.

The timing lands during a stretch of downtown momentum. Main Street visitation rose from about 385,000 visits in 2022 to more than 414,000 in 2025, and Platte City’s downtown planning effort, launched in June 2025, aims to improve streetscapes, facades, connectivity, redevelopment and new housing opportunities. A Facebook post about the renovation and restaurant drew 136,729 views, underscoring how closely people were watching the project before the doors opened.

With the courthouse across the street and a renovated storefront now serving pasta, pizza and seafood under one roof, Doni’s arrives in a part of town where lunch, dinner and a full bar can now fit into the daily rhythm of downtown Platte City.