Trattoria Napoli aims for July opening in growing Zephyrhills

Trattoria Napoli is aiming to open July 23 at 5470 7th Street in downtown Zephyrhills, bringing a full-service Italian restaurant to a space that is being shaped for about 120 seats, a bar, a semiprivate pizza room and a few outdoor tables. The project is still tied to construction, licensing and the certificate of occupancy, but the site already has a head start as a second-generation restaurant space with about 3,200 square feet and a large parking lot.

The room is being designed to feel warm and relaxed rather than formal. Hardwood tables, olive green booths, basil accents, black ceilings and soft lighting are meant to give the restaurant the feel of a neighborhood place where pasta and pizza can anchor an evening out without the stiffness that often comes with a white-tablecloth Italian room.

Chef-owner Matthew Zappoli is opening Trattoria Napoli with support from his wife, Idania Reyes, who helped shape both the menu and the concept. The food leans into the kind of detail pasta people notice right away: handmade pasta, fresh seafood, steaks and pizza made from dough that Zappoli has been developing for years. He plans to roll and extrude pasta in house using Italian equipment, a move that gives the restaurant a visible craft element from the start.

One of the menu’s most personal dishes is Millie’s Meatballs, built from his grandmother’s recipe and served with homemade pasta. Other dishes mentioned for the opening include braised short rib agnolotti with parsnip puree and Bordelaise, along with a Bistecca Fiorentina for two. Pizza will come from a gas-fired Wood Stone oven, giving the room a second focal point beside the pasta program.

Zappoli’s background helps explain the scope. Born in Brooklyn into an Italian American family, he graduated with honors from the Culinary Institute of America in 1998, later worked under Charlie Palmer at Aureole in New York City, and served as executive chef at NYY Steak at Seminole Casino Coconut Creek before becoming creative culinary director at Seminole Hard Rock Tampa in 2022. He also won an episode of Food Network’s Chopped in 2010, and the TRATTORIA NAPOLI trademark application was filed April 22.

Zephyrhills offers a market that is growing while still trying to keep a small-town feel. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city’s population at 22,447 on July 1, 2025, up 30.5 percent from the April 1, 2020 base, and the city recorded $96.423 million in accommodation-and-food-services sales in 2022. Trattoria Napoli is moving into that mix with a menu that points to memory, technique and a room built for regulars.

By the time the July opening window arrives, the idea is clear: Zephyrhills is not just getting another Italian restaurant on 7th Street, but a chef-led dining room where handmade pasta and wood-fired pizza are set to define a new neighborhood habit.