After nearly three years in the making, Spaghetti Western Restaurant & Bar is preparing to open in Old Town Newhall, bringing pizza, pasta and a full bar to Newhall Crossing.

The Spaghetti Western concept combines familiar Italian dishes with a playful atmosphere inspired by the intersection of Italian cinema and Santa Clarita’s film history.

The restaurant, planned for 22520 Lyons Avenue next to the Laemmle Theatre, is the latest venture from married restaurateurs AJ Gilbert and Martha Madison.

Despite its name, Spaghetti Western is not a Western-themed restaurant. Instead, the name reflects the Italian-made Western films that helped popularize the genre, including Sergio Leone’s Clint Eastwood-led “A Fistful of Dollars” and “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,” as well as Sergio Corbucci’s “Django.”

Design plans call for movie posters, local production imagery and projected films to reflect the region’s filmmaking roots.

Jade Aubuchon | KHTS News

“It’s not a Western restaurant. It’s an Italian restaurant,” Gilbert said while discussing the concept.

The menu is expected to feature pizza, pasta, salads and grilled meats, along with dishes such as steak Florentine, pollo al mattone and local seafood. The owners plan to emphasize fresh ingredients and familiar flavors without limiting the restaurant to a single region of Italy.

Mockup of Spaghetti Western menu selection. Courtesy Image

The goal, Gilbert and Madison said, is to create a place that feels welcoming rather than formal, with options for a range of occasions, from family dinners and birthday celebrations to date nights and casual evenings out.

“Overall, it’s about fun, it’s about accessibility, and not being too stuffy or pretentious,” Madison said.

That approach will extend beyond the main menu. The owners have discussed a customizable gelato sundae with Italian cookies, chocolates and syrups, as well as a cocktail program that balances sophisticated drinks with more playful creations.

Plans call for dinner service six nights a week, with Mondays off, like many other restaurants on Main Street, alongside Saturday and Sunday brunch. Takeout and catering options are also planned.

The restaurant’s intimate setting will support indoor and outdoor seating and can accommodate larger parties of 24 or more, according to Gilbert.

For Gilbert and Madison, Spaghetti Western represents a return to restaurant ownership and an opportunity to build something in the community they now call home.

The pair moved to the Santa Clarita Valley in 2021 after years in the restaurant industry. Gilbert began managing restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area in the early 1990s, and eventually founded the Luna Park Restaurant Group, while Madison began her restaurant career as a bartender in New York City while attending the American Musical and Dramatic Academy.

Madison has also worked in hospitality recruitment, including as a director of recruitment for One-Haus Hospitality, bringing experience in staffing, hiring and restaurant operations to the new venture.

The couple met in 2003 during the opening of Luna Park’s Los Angeles location and married in 2007. They ran the Luna Park Restaurant Group together until selling the business in 2016.

Their new venture also reflects a connection between the region’s entertainment industry and the Italian films that inspired the restaurant’s name.

Santa Clarita has long been associated with film and television production, but Gilbert said he wanted the restaurant to recognize not only the actors and directors associated with the industry, but also the workers behind the scenes.

“This is a below-the-line town, and so we want to honor the people who built here, live here,” Gilbert said, referring to the production professionals who help bring films and television shows to life.

 

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The result is a restaurant concept that brings together two seemingly different elements — Italian food and Western films — through their shared cinematic history.

With a planned December opening, Spaghetti Western is poised to bring new energy to Santa Clarita’s Old Town Newhall, serving Italian comfort food with a cinematic twist and inviting locals and visitors alike to rediscover the neighborhood’s evolving charm.

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