What to do with oddly shaped kitchen – take away entrance to dining room?

There was a flood in my parents' home and they are redoing their kitchen. This is the original floor plan from when the house was built around 2000. There is currently a peninsula, no island.

They live in a big house (over 4000 square feet) but I feel like that entrance to the dining room really closes off the kitchen and packs it into a corner. The new drawing has an island that is 37 x 59 – it has to be thin bc of the entry to the dining room making it narrow there. It also has to be off center bc of the wall to the dining room. I think it looks silly.

My idea is to take down that entrance to the dining room and make the kitchen bigger/open it up. I don't know if it is a load bearing wall, but regardless, my mom thinks it is a bad idea bc she thinks losing that entrance to the dining room would make the house weird (she uses it 3 times a year and so she isnt saying this from a what she wants perspective but on what she thinks makes the house better). You cant see it in this drawing but the other entrance to the dining room is right where the photo ends- so it is still close in my opinion.

What do you think? Is taking down that entrance the best idea? Any other ideas you like better? Thank you!