Judging from public comments on social media, the community has been in need of a good Italian restaurant. One is now on the way as Roma Italian Restaurant gets ready to open at Western Nebraska Regional Airport. Cousins Alex Gabrica and Noti Berisha are from Dallas, Texas, where family members are in the restaurant business.

They learned the cooking end of the business from their cousin Tony, who now operates Luigi’s Italian Restaurant in North Platte. “We heard about the opportunity here from our cousin Tony and he got us in touch with the airport,” Berisha said. “We’re a family owned business making authentic, homemade Italian food.”