Most of us are creatures of habit. We like our routines, and eschew change. I am such a soul.

In 1993, I opened Pascucci because I love to cook. I had never even worked in a restaurant before, but for some insane reason, I thought owning one would be a whole lot of fun.

This, in hindsight, is not recommendable. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, and I learned a lot of lessons the hard way.

It’s now 33 years later, and I still love what I do. I’m not ready to retire, but it was increasingly evident that something wasn’t working anymore, in our sweet little town.

Since COVID, business has been inconsistent, and for the most part, no longer profitable. I’ve actually told a few friends and customers that in some ways it’s harder to run a restaurant now than it was during COVID, surprising as that sounds.

COVID was challenging, as it unrolled like a big, never-ending train wreck, and then the government threw money at small businesses, in a big way, which let us pay our beloved hardworking employees and remain open.

Our community rushed to support local businesses, and that was a lifeline for us.

Then we all endured the soaring inflation, tight labor markets, and intense restaurant competition that followed COVID. We are on a new economic landscape now, and even major corporations are struggling to predict how to manage these conditions. Small restaurant owners?

It’s impossible. The uncertain economy and the uneasiness about our world right now have prompted many to do the sensible thing: cut back on dining out. This is likely to continue, at least for the next few months.

For restaurant owners, these are hard conditions in which to try to survive.

Several months ago, I made the toughest decision I’ve ever had to make in my life and announced to our community that I will be closing Pascucci. It breaks my heart to say that.

I so love what I do, though the restaurant business is hard work. You have to truly love it to be in it, and while I never minded the hard work, continually losing money this past couple of years just doesn’t make sense anymore.

So here we are. The story of Pascucci has come to an end, 33 years on. I cannot thank all of our loyal customers enough for bringing your friends and family here, celebrating your special occasions with us, and keeping us in your heart.

However, my story is not yet finished. I’m excited to announce, with my loyal staff and very creative kitchen manager, some of whom have been with me for 20+ years, that we will be creating a new concept here at 1230 State St.

It will be a new restaurant, with a new name, yet to be determined, with a carefully curated and exciting menu. This venture will be more suitable for the theater arts district, with new furniture and decor.

I opened a restaurant because I love to cook, but running it meant I didn’t have time to cook, so now I am getting back to my roots.

Our new concept will feature lighter fare for “after-show” patrons, with different types of dishes, daily rotating specials, homemade soups, and whatever our talented cooks want to create that day. I am getting excited thinking about the creative culinary aspects we are going to bring forth.

The exact timing of this next adventure is still a little bit up in the air, so stay tuned. I apologize that we have not been able to give our community a final date for Pascucci’s closing, and with it, our upcoming furniture and fixture sale.

We’ve been working through some major obstacles after moving to this location. It’s been agony to resolve the challenges of having to re-apply with the state of California ABC to transfer our liquor license.

We also got blindsided when we discovered, to our horror, that the existing bar, built by a previous tenant, must be removed, per the city, as it was built without a permit, and is not ADA compliant.

Have patience, we’re trying to time the new concept with resolving all of this.

We have hurdles ahead, and a challenging year behind us. We want to make sure all of these details are sorted out for you in a seamless transition to our new adventure.

Huge, heartfelt thanks to you, our amazing community, for all your love and support for so many years. We long to see you one last time at Pascucci in the next month or so before we transform into our next culinary adventure, so please come visit.