Former Husker Lance Brown To Continue Lo Sole Mio Legacy With New Italian Restaurant | National News

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Sara and Lance Brown (left) pose for a portrait with Marie & Don Losole inside of Lo Sole Mio restaurant. The Browns are buying the restaurant from Marie and Don.

Statues at Lo Sole Mio restaurant are labeled for an online auction.

Site of Lo Sole Mio restaurant soon to be the site of a new Italian restaurant after former Husker Lance Brown leases location.

OMAHA — Omaha businessman Lance Brown wanted to help his sister move back to their hometown.

Their mom lives here. So does his sister’s granddaughter. And his sis, Jamie Uphoff of Las Vegas, has been away for 25 years.

Sara and Lance Brown (left) pose for a portrait with Marie & Don Losole inside of Lo Sole Mio restaurant. The Browns are buying the restaurant from Marie and Don.

Brown, a former Nebraska football player, started to seek opportunities for Uphoff and her husband, Tony, who have longtime careers in the restaurant business.

He considered various options in the industry, but, he said, “nothing was so exciting that we wanted to pull the trigger on it.”

Until he met Don and Marie Losole, who closed their popular south-central Omaha eatery, Lo Sole Mio Ristorante, on July 2 after operating it for more than 30 years.

He knew he wanted to establish a new Italian restaurant at that same address — 3001 S. 32nd Ave. — and bring in the Uphoffs to run it.

“As soon as I met with Don and Marie and we talked about what could happen, I knew this was the perfect project,” he said.

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Brown, who owns NebraskaLand Recycling, signed a lease agreement and purchased Lo Sole Mio’s equipment and other assets so he could move quickly. He hopes to open before the end of the year.

He’s eager to learn as much as he can from the Losoles about the Lo Sole Mio tradition.

Their restaurant had a large menu of Italian favorites, including some dishes you don’t often find at other cafes. It had a large dining room decorated with a European flair, with nods to some of the famous people who once dined there.

“They are special people who ran an incredible restaurant, so it won’t be exactly the same,” Brown said. “I am trying to get as many hints and secrets from Don and Marie as I can. We want to do them justice.”

As a nod to their legacy, the new restaurant will be named The Mio.

The Losoles had several inquiries about purchasing the restaurant building, including one from a pizza purveyor that was almost to the contract-signing stage when interest rates went up and the deal fell through, Marie Losole said.

They weren’t all that excited about selling, she said, instead wanting to leave their property — including buildings they own nearby — as an estate for their kids. So a lease suits them well.

A Caribbean restaurant is opening in their property across the street from the former Lo Sole Mio, and another cafe is interested in space next to that. The Losoles have other rental spaces nearby, including one that has been occupied by a barber shop for several years.

They thought they would relax in retirement, Marie said with a laugh, and now they’re landlords.

Despite other news reports that Lo Sole Mio was “reopening,” Marie emphasized that operation of The Mio is totally out of her family’s hands.

One way Brown will make the restaurant separate is by somehow capitalizing on his Husker career, he said.

“I think I can do something with that,” he said, perhaps by including NU memorabilia displays at The Mio.

Statues at Lo Sole Mio restaurant are labeled for an online auction.

Brown played both split end and wingback for the Huskers from 1994 to 1998 and was part of three national championship teams.

He finished his career with 22 receptions and two touchdowns and averaged 18.0 yards per catch. He also was a three-time Academic All-American.

He hopes The Mio can open in early December, depending on liquor licenses and inspections. The Uphoffs are moving to Nebraska in two to three weeks.

“We’d really like to capture the holidays,” he said. “People are already calling about private parties.”

He said Jamie is thrilled with her new gig.

“Right when I said ‘Lo Sole Mio’ to my sister, she said ‘I’m in.’” he said.

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Originally published on omaha.com, part of the TownNews Content Exchange.

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