An Italian restaurant in Toronto has closed down permanently as its whole team moves on to pursue a new project.
The city has been wracked with restaurant closures lately, it seems. From 20-year-old Italian mainstay Vivoli to beloved Leslieville sandwich shop Leslieville Pumps, it feels like nothing is immune to the winds of change anymore.
One of the latest Toronto restaurants to shutter is the Junction Triangle’s Lucia, an Italian joint that kept the community fed with its fill of $25 weekday lunch prix fixe menus and indulgent standalone dishes like mozzarella-stuffed gnocchi and Nutella tiramisu for the better part of six years.
Before Lucia, the team was behind the now also-closed Local Kitchen & Wine Bar, which, not unlike its sister restaurant, served a menu created with locally grown produce and ethically sourced ingredients served with a signature Italian flair.
As of June 27, though, Lucia has officially gone the way of its forebear, as the restaurant took to its Instagram account to announce it would be closing permanently as the team moves over to a new restaurant.
But it’s not as dark as it seems, we promise.
In fact, it’s actually kind of great news, as long as you’re alright with the loss of one restaurant in favour of another, especially when the new restaurant is one of the most anticipated to open this summer.
As it happens, the closure of Lucia makes way for the team’s latest venture, Sal’s Pasta & Chops, which is set to take over a Little Italy restaurant space most recently held by short-lived contemporary pub venture, Wolfie.
“Our last dinner service will be tonight,” reads the caption of Lucia’s closure post on Instagram. “Come for the last supper, then watch the resurrection, as our entire team migrates over to College Street at our new spot [Sal’s].”
Sal’s, which officially entered a soft-opening phase with walk-in only service in early July, is serving up — you guessed it — Italian cuisine, but this time with a decidedly nostalgic slant.
Named after owners Michael’s and Fabio’s fathers (yes, they’re both named Sal), the restaurant has been described as “a coming home of sorts,” setting up shop in the heart of Little Italy, where both Sals landed upon immigrating to Toronto from Italy.
With over 15 years of supplying the city with droolworthy cuisine under their belts, this might just be the best venture by the team yet, even if we had to lose Lucia to see it come to life.
Sal’s Pasta & Chops can be found at 614 College St.
