When Billy Rizzo opened a restaurant across the street from Texas Tech in 1998, he was bringing a family business west. The original Stella’s was his mother’s deli in Suffern, New York, opened in 1973, according to the restaurant’s website. Today the Lubbock Stella’s is on 82nd Street and has been a stop for New York-style Italian food for more than a quarter century.
From Suffern to Lubbock
Stella Rizzo opened her deli on Airmont Road in Suffern, selling cuts of meat, fresh bread and Italian family recipes, the website says. In 1998, her son opened Stella’s Restaurant & Deli on 14th Street across from Texas Tech, with his mother’s help.
The restaurant has moved twice. According to its website, Rizzo bought, renovated and moved Stella’s into the former Steak & Ale building at 50th and Utica in 2001, where it stayed for 19 years. In 2020 it reopened in a larger, renovated space at 6015 82nd St., Suite 1, near Frankford Avenue. Stella Rizzo died in August 2014 at age 85, KCBD reported; a tribute at the restaurant was scheduled for the following Wednesday.
What makes it different
The restaurant describes itself as one of Lubbock’s most popular upscale Italian restaurants, with house-made pasta, New York-style pizza, fish and hand-cut steaks, plus a deli. There is a bar and lounge, patio seating and live entertainment on weekends, per its site.
It also changes the menu with the calendar. Its November brunch specialties, running Nov. 7 through 29, include Bourbon Pecan Pie French Toast ($19), Turkey Hash and Eggs ($21) and an Oven Roasted Turkey Plate ($26). Holiday feast orders for Thanksgiving are due Sunday, Nov. 22, and Christmas orders by Sunday, Dec. 20, according to Stella’s homepage.
Who runs it
Stella’s homepage lists Billy Rizzo and William Harper as managing partners. A state alcohol permit record, as compiled by the third-party site BoozeReports, shows the restaurant operating under WRS Restaurant Group LLC since a July 2020 ownership change, the same month as the move to 82nd Street. Beyond that, we did not find public details about the owners’ backgrounds, and we have not interviewed them.
In the community
- On Sept. 11, Stella’s gave a portion of all sales to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, which helps veterans and first responders, KCBD reported. Harper told KCBD, “Whatever happens to us, it happens to us together.”
- The restaurant hosts the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce’s Business After Hours on Thursday, Nov. 19, from 5:30 to 7 p.m., according to the Chamber’s listing.
Visit
6015 82nd St., Suite 1. Open Monday to Thursday 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., Friday 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Reservations: 806-785-9299. Special limited menus on holidays.
Sources
- Stella's Restaurant, About: https://stellaslubbock.us/about-us/
- Stella's Restaurant, homepage: https://stellaslubbock.us/
- Stella's November brunch specialties (PDF): https://stellaslubbock.us/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/Stellas-November-Brunch-Specialities-2026.pdf
- KCBD, Aug. 10, 2014: memorial for Stella Rizzo: https://www.kcbd.com/story/26244669/memorial-services-scheduled-for-stellas-restaurant-namesake/
- KCBD, Sept. 10, 2026: 9/11 fundraiser: https://www.kcbd.com/2026/09/10/stellas-restaurant-host-fundraiser-911/
- Lubbock Chamber of Commerce, Business After Hours listing: https://business.lubbockchamber.com/events/details/business-after-hours-sponsored-by-stella-s-restaurant-13522
- BoozeReports TABC permit history (third party): https://www.boozereports.com/bar/stellas-restaurant-&-deli-lubbock-tx-MB496548/license-history
