Ticket Editor: 3 Italian restaurants close, 2 new open, 1 changes in Sarasota, Bradenton
I love visiting a fine Italian restaurant, a real good pizzeria or a sandwich shop specializing in subs, hoagies and Italian heros. I love being greeted by the owners and dining on their pasta made from scratch, their red sauce originating from an ancient family recipe, a slice of pizza from their hand-tossed pie, or layers of freshly sliced meats and cheeses cradled by freshly baked bread.
I grew up around my family's restaurant Lucy's Cafe, which served Italian cuisine for more than 70 years in Hershey, Pennsylvania. I learned to make meatballs right next to my Grandma Mary, and for one glorious summer in the mid-1980s, even lived with my parents and younger siblings in one of Grandma's apartments right above the restaurant there at 267 W. Chocolate Ave.
Before walking over to Hersheypark with my grade school pals, I might have to take empty beer bottles from the cellar out to the dumpster in the alleyway, sweep the sidewalk leading up to the front entrance or any number of restaurant-related chores assigned by my dad. I cherish those memories.
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Primo! Ristorante, one of my favorite places in Sarasota-Bradenton for pizza, closes permanently
My parents left Lucy's Cafe and Hershey for Florida in 1989, but I still have a deep appreciation for Italian-American restaurants, which is why it saddened me when Cafe Baci in Sarasota closed in May after three decades in business. And now I'm equally disappointed to see Primo! by SRQ Airport permanently shut its doors after operating for nearly four decades.
Before Sarasotans had the option to visit such downtown Italian restaurant landmarks as Caragiulos, Il Panificio or Mediterraneo, there was chef-owner Maurizio Colucci’s Primo! Ristorante. Opened in 1986, Primo is credited with Sarasota’s first wood-burning oven and remained a top spot for an authentic Neapolitan Margherita when I visited with my wife earlier this year.
The spacious yet cozy building offered equally charming patio seating, which is where we enjoyed a meal in January of pizza from the wood-fired oven as well as their rendition of puccia tarantina. The fresh and flavorful flatbread was stuffed with arugula, cream cheese and mortadella, and served with a side of Caesar dressing for dipping. I'll miss Primo! I'll miss that sandwich. And I'll miss that pizza, which I included on my most recent list of best pizza destinations in Sarasota and Bradenton.
Of course, many people will miss Primo! Nearly a decade ago, for example, we did a series of interviews with local celebrities about where they liked to eat, drink, shop, play and stay in Sarasota and Manatee. When I interviewed Sarasota native Nik Wallenda, probably the most famous daredevil on the planet, he included Primo! on his list of favorites.
"I visit Primo's restaurant often for dinner with my family, but I also enjoy stopping by the restaurant for just an iced tea and appetizer," Wallenda told me in 2014.
Colucci grew up in Italy's Puglia region and after working at various restaurants in his homeland, he brought his expertise to eateries in Miami and Atlanta before landing in Sarasota and opening Primo!, which became a landmark business here.
“We went through, I would say, three generations — we saw people fall in love, get married, have kids, their kids have kids," Colucci said about the restaurant's legacy in an interview with my colleague Jimmy Geurts. "We became an institution, in a way."
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Petrosino’s Italian Deli & Market in Bradenton closes
Meanwhile, it appears another one of my favorite pizza places, Petrosino’s Italian Deli & Market in Bradenton, has also closed. I've been unable to reach anyone by phone after repeated calls, and the business' Facebook page has not been updated since Oct. 1, when Petrosino's posted: "We will be closed till further notice. Still no power. We are all ok and we hope everyone is as well. We will keep you informed on our reopening. God bless."
Opened in early 2019 by the corner of Caruso Road and State Road 70, I noted earlier this year that Petrosino's was one of the best Italian markets I’ve been able to find south of the massive Mazzaro’s landmark in St. Petersburg. Petrosino’s excelled at a whole bunch of things, such as sandwiches, sliders and, yes, pizza.
Petrosino’s made Roman-style pizza: The light, crispy squares resulting from a house-made, natural dough that would rise up to 96 hours and, perhaps as a result, seemed easier to digest. During my last visit earlier this year, I enjoyed an entire square covered in fresh mozzarella, as well as one topped with memorable pepperoni.
Various other specialty pizzas could also be ordered by the slice or tray, including the “Matrix” that mixed mozzarella and parmesan with cherry tomatoes, pancetta, chives, garlic and rosemary. Yeah, I'm gonna miss Petrosino’s.
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Pazzo Southside Italian restaurant in Sarasota closes
Alas, more Italian restaurants have closed recently in Sarasota and Bradenton. Michael and Victoria Calore, previous owners of the popular Mozzarella Fella in downtown Sarasota, opened Pazzo Southside in 2018 at 1830 South Osprey. Then in early 2020, shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic hit Florida, Pazzo Southside, announced plans to move around the corner to the former Giorgio’s on Hillview Street the first of May.
“We have had to turn customers away with only 60 seats so we decided to move to a larger space with a full bar and seating for 155 guests,” owner Michael Calore, who along with his wife Victoria had lost a restaurant near the World Trade Center during 9/11, told the Herald-Tribune. “We wouldn’t have moved if we couldn’t stay in the neighborhood. We really love the Southside location.”
Sadly, Calore recently confirmed the closure of Pazzo Southside's Hillview Street location to my colleague Geurts. Barry Seidel, registered agent for the Hillview Properties, L.L.C. that owns the property, also said in an email that the location is available for lease.
And I'm already being emailed reports of at least one more local Italian restaurant closing, but have yet to be able to confirm.
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Why have so many Italian restaurants recently closed in Sarasota and Bradenton?
The kind of family-owned and operated Italian restaurants that so many of us adore work on a very thin profit margin and inflation has cut into the bottom line with a sample of price increases from August 2021 to August 2022 showing a more than 16% increase for dairy and related products as well as cereals and bakery, according to a recent USA TODAY report. Flour is up 23% and eggs have jumped a whopping 39.8%. Perhaps an even bigger hurdle, though, has been the widespread labor shortages triggered by the pandemic.
Fav's Italian Cucina in downtown Bradenton switches to counter service
Located in the heart of downtown Bradenton on Old Main Street, Fav’s Italian Cucina (419 Old Main St.) is where siblings Michael Favasuli and Maria Favasuli-Wagner have been serving some of the region's best hand-tossed pizza, homemade pasta and subs on freshly baked bread for more than 22 years. I've been happily dining at Fav's since first relocating to the area in 2004. Basically, the restaurant stayed exactly the same until recently.
Rather than taking a seat and being waited on by one of their smart and affable servers, you now place your order right at the counter. It's pleasant enough, but not quite the same. Your lunch or dinner then arrives in a paper or foil container, rather than the traditional restaurant dinner plates they used for more than two decades. Fav's food is still exactly the same as before, which means it's still among the best Italian food you will find in the area, so I will continue to dine there as often as possible.
But for those wondering what happened to the servers it's because Mike and Maria simply can't find enough labor. Their open kitchen overlooking the inside dining area (there's also covered outdoor seating) is now populated by many of the same folks who used to take your order. Fortunately, we still get to interact with them when they bring all that delicious food to our table.
Two new Italian restaurants open in Sarasota
Also on the bright side, Faicco’s Italian Hero's and Grill recently opened in the former Webber’s Hot Dogs location in Sarasota at 3590 Webber St. The same family owns the famed Faicco’s Italian Specialties in the West Village of New York City. Signature sandwiches include a classic Italian hoagie as well as one with sweet and hot sausages made on the premises and placed on bread imported from New Jersey but baked in house, our correspondent Lee McCall recently reported. I'm very excited to try Faicco's, which I'm told has been packed pretty much ever since they opened for business.
Sarasota also recently welcomed Maestrale ristorante pizzeria at 7515 S Tamiami Trail. The owners are from the same Puglia region of Italy as Primo!'s owners and are serving the same puccia sandwiches I've been known to devour along with a bunch of different pizzas featuring thin, Roma/Neapolitan crusts. Yeah, I look forward to trying this place, too, and seeing it along with Faicco’s become a longtime member of the Sarasota-Manatee restaurant community.
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Make reservations ASAP for holiday boat parades in Sarasota and Bradenton
Nothing screams Florida holiday fun like attending a Christmas boat parade, with ones coming up in Venice on Dec. 3 and then on Dec. 10 in downtown Sarasota along the Bayfront, and the same evening along the Manatee River with viewing in downtown Bradenton and Palmetto. And the best way to experience the boat parades is at one of the area's best waterfront restaurants.
Alas, Pop's Sunset Grill, which is a sponsor of the Venice Christmas Boat Parade of Lights, is already sold out for Dec. 3. Another excellent option is securing a seat at Marina Jack on the water in downtown Sarasota. It's reservation-only for Dec. 10 and management said Thursday (Nov. 17) that seating was still available by calling 941-365-4232, extension 5.
And then there's Pier 22 in downtown Bradenton, which as of Monday (Nov. 14) was accepting reservations for their fabulous VIP boat parade viewing experience, with Riverhouse Waterfront Restaurant, another popular favorite in Palmetto, also serving as a great viewing party site.
Last year, Pier 22 covered their waterfront terrace in a big white tent and the entire area brimmed with Christmas decorations and cheer. We were seated with a glass of complimentary sparkling wine and the food was served buffet-style starting at 6:30 p.m. The feast included an assorted sushi display, peel and eat shrimp, smoked pulled pork sliders, and two items I went back for multiple times: the spinach and artichoke stuffed mushrooms and bacon-wrapped chicken satays with barbecue sauce. Pier 22’s three most popular salads – the 1976, house, and Caesar – were also on the menu.
The cost this year? $317.50 for two people, and it should be totally worth it, if you're looking to splurge on a special holiday experience.
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Wade Tatangelo is Ticket Editor for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, and Florida-Georgia Regional Dining and Entertainment Editor for the USA TODAY Network. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. He can be reached by email at wade.tatangelo@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism by subscribing.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Primo!, Pazzo Italian restaurants close, new openings in Sarasota area
