Beloved Davenport Italian Restaurant Closing After Nearly Four Decades

After 37 years in the business, the Lunardi family is closing the doors to their restaurant.

"After 37 incredible years of family ownership, memories, and authentic Italian cooking, we have been forced to make the sudden decision to permanently close our doors," Paul & Brooke Lunardi said in a Facebook post.

They detailed the start of the restaurant, which opened in June 5th, 1989 by Paul's uncle, Terry Lunardi. Paul was working with Terry from the start, eventually taking the reigns of the restaurant - working his way up from dishwasher to cook, to manager, and fully taking over the business in 2009.

They had planned to retire after a final strong month of July, but some things have changed.

"While our love for our food and our guests has never changed, the current economic climate—including skyrocketing food costs and unprecedented operational hurdles—has made running a small business incredibly difficult," the post read. "We were planning a full summer run through July 26th to step into our well-deserved retirement, focus on our personal health, and step back from the grind."

They explained that their target of July 26th wasn't going to happen - because of a clerical error with a third-party insurance company.

"A major third-party insurance clerical error during the state’s new computer database migration automatically cancelled our liquor license in error. Because our local city council cannot meet to resolve this state glitch until July, we are legally unable to serve our wine or spirits."

Paul explained he doesn't want to have anyone remember the restaurant except for the standards set by his uncle.

"We have decided to go out on our own terms, with our pride completely intact. We refuse to quietly slip away without thanking the loyal customers who became our extended family, and the dedicated staff members who stood by us through thick and thin."

The final day for the restaurant will be this Sunday, or when they run out of product.

Final hours:

• Friday: 4pm-9pm
• Saturday: 4-9pm
• Sunday: 4-8pm