La Casa Pizzaria on Leavenworth Street in Omaha has regained its famous mascot, "Peppi."It's been five months since the 10-foot iconic Italian gentleman has strummed his mandolin atop the La Casa Pizzaria sign. Co-owner and general manager Nicole Jesse said in November a large truck hit the pole holding up the beloved Peppi."The day that he was hit, we had numerous people call and say 'What happened?' or 'Where did he go?'" said Jesse. For Jesse and other fans of the historic restaurant, Peppi's absence has been akin to the loss of a family member."This is kind of a comfort place for people," said Jesse. Formerly Jesse's grandparents' home, La Casa Pizzaria transformed into the first pizza place in Omaha back in 1953. Peppi moved to his post a few years later. "It's been sad," said Jesse. "People have missed him." Local neon restoration company, Signworks, said it was a long shot for Peppi, with tens of thousands of dollars in damage and original craftsmanship on the line."The way it was damaged it completely bent him in half basically," We were lucky we had all of the original drawings, photos, some of the patterns of neon."But after months of hard work, they were able to bring Peppi back to his authentic self."Everything on the sign is exactly how it would've been made 60 years ago," said Jesse. And at 60 years old, Peppi has never looked better."He's cute," said Jesse. "He's just kind of one of those people that's very lovable."