Bella Vita Bistro in Wichita to close after 15 years

Bella Vita Bistro owner Lory Wooley will close her restaurant at the end of business on Aug. 30.

Denise Neil

The Wichita Eagle

In late May, Bella Vita Bistro owner Lory Wooley said she might have to close if business at her 15-year-old Italian restaurant didn’t improve.

She’d taken a hit, she said, after a mouse infestation in her restaurant had caused people to stay away.

Bella Vita Bistro at 120 N. West St. will close at the end of business on Aug. 30. Denise Neil The Wichita Eagle

But business did not improve, and in fact, it got even worse. On Monday of this week, not a single diner walked through the door of the restaurant at 120 N. West St., Wooley said.

So Wooley has made a decision that she says has left her “heartbroken.” She plans to close her restaurant at the end of business on Aug. 30.

“I can’t continue to stay open,” she said. “We just don’t have enough customers.”

Wooley is encouraging anyone who has a Bella Vita gift card to come in before Aug. 30 and use it. She’d also like her longtime customers to have a chance to say goodbye.

The trouble starts

The problems started in October of last year, Wooley said. She was organizing a storage shed behind her restaurant when she discovered a nest of mice.

Not long after, she started seeing mice in the restaurant. To keep them out, she installed an expensive new door, called an exterminator and set traps. But nothing seemed to work.

Then, one night, a mouse hopped onto the table as a group of diners was finishing its meals. Later that week, a customer posted a Google review of the restaurant that exaggerated the already bad situation, writing that a rat had run across a customer’s foot and landed in a trap, where it was left squealing while customers tried to eat.

After that, business plummeted, Wooley said. She put up a post on her restaurant’s social media pages explaining the situation and assuring customers she was doing everything she could. But that didn’t help, she said.

To make matters worse, she said, she recently lost her chef.

Wooley said she sees no other choice but to close. She’s been losing sleep over the decision, though.

“It’s been really, really awful,” she said. “I cannot continue to lose this kind of money.”

The hours through Aug. 30 will be 5 to 9 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays.

This story was originally published July 14, 2025 at 11:56 AM.

Denise Neil

The Wichita Eagle

Denise Neil has covered restaurants and entertainment since 1997. Her Dining with Denise Facebook page is the go-to place for diners to get information about local restaurants. She’s a regular judge at local food competitions and speaks to groups all over Wichita about dining.