A former Yakima pizza joint came back last week.

But only for a few days.

Nearly a year after Russillo's shut down at 399 E. Yakima Ave., Brandon Russell donned a Russillo's chef's shirt to make and sell pizzas from a wagon across the street from the Central Washington State Fair. He also delivered the pizzas to be sold inside the Yakima SunDome.

A banner with the restaurant's logo is draped on top of the wagon, generating interest from former customers hoping the restaurant was coming back to town.

"We got a real warm reception from customers," said Russell, 35. "It's very heart warming."

It's been a tough year for Russell and his family. Earlier this summer, he and his wife, Lisa, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. His home is in foreclosure.

But Russell refuses to give up on the business, which he began here in 2004 when he and his wife opened the first location, which sold pizzas and gelato, at Track 29 in downtown Yakima.

In 2006, the restaurant got attention for opening a second location in the former Yakima Mall food court. In addition to offering its well-regarded pizza and gelato items, it expanded its menu to offer an array of Italian food entrees. With live music every weekend, the restaurant was at the center of Yakima's downtown revitalization.

That all ended last December.

Since then, Russell has been traveling across the state for catering jobs. Recently, he traveled to Packwood for the Packwood Flea Market.

Russell admits that he made a lot of mistakes and is trying to make up for them. He has been honoring Russillo's gift cards and is saving a portion of his earnings to work on paying back former employees.

Though the first location at Track 29 was quite profitable, Russell knows that he didn't have enough capital to expand so soon. He didn't have a solid training program for his employees. And he didn't realize the higher costs that come with expanding the menu or running a larger restaurant.

"I take responsibility for the mistakes I made," he said. "They won't be repeated."

He hopes to take these lessons to open another restaurant. However, that restaurant won't be in the Yakima Valley.

Just before the downtown Yakima restaurant closed, Russell and his investors had a location in Puyallup, a suburb of Tacoma. Russell has been working on opening a restaurant there, but knows that he still has to settle remaining matters with the Yakima restaurant and resolving his family's bankruptcy case first.

Aiding in Russell's efforts to open a new restaurant is Lonnie Davis. The 71-year-old is a former Yakima resident who now lives in Puyallup and runs Aqua-Lift, a water hydraulic boat-lift company. He became an investor in the Russillo's last year.

Despite the challenges the restaurant faced in the last year, Davis said he refuses to give up on Russell and the restaurant business.

A member of the 1953 Yakima Beetles baseball team that was American Legion National Champions, Davis uses a sports analogy to explain his reasons: "Just because you strike out one or twice doesn't mean it's over."

* Mai Hoang can be reached at 577-7685 or mhoang@yakimaherald.com.