| Last call at The Village Cafe |
| By Kate Bucklin (published: November 29, 2007) |
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| Village Cafe owner John Reali in March 2006.
File photo
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PORTLAND – For 71 years, The Village Cafe has served traditional Italian dishes and other comfort food. With its reassuring charm and walls filled with photos documenting the history of the place, the restaurant has a loyal following – people who are attracted to the atmosphere as much as they are the pasta and sauce.
But at the end of this week, the old-school patriarch of Portland’s restaurant scene will close its doors. A deal to sell the 112 Newbury St. property to a Boston-based real estate developer is complete, according to the owners. The Village is to be demolished and replaced by more than 100 mid-scale condominiums.
The Reali family opened the restaurant at the bottom of Munjoy Hill in 1936. John Reali is the third generation to run the place, following in the footsteps of his father Amedeo and grandfather Vincenzo. It went from a small room with four booths and a few stools to the 500-seat restaurant it is today, but the family recipes didn’t change, from the veal and chicken Parmesan to the fried clams.
Reali has said in recent years that the space grew too big, and the competition tougher. In 2005, when the family announced it would sell the property to GFI Residential, Reali said The Village would move to a smaller space in the East End.
Although he released a statement saying he hoped to find a new location in the spring, Reali said this week that the future of the restaurant in a new location is uncertain.
“I need time to take care of some loose ends here,” he said. “(I’m) not rushing.”
Reali said The Village will stay open until Saturday – if the staff and provisions hold out that long. Business has been brisk, Reali said, since word got out that the restaurant would close.
“We’ve had more business than we can handle,” he said Monday. “Everybody’s trying to get their last meal.”
The condominium project, approved earlier this year, calls for two, five-story buildings with 84 residential units, retail space and underground parking in the first phase. A second phase would add 54 units. Prices are expected to range from $275,000 to $450,000. GFI is aiming for a spring groundbreaking.
Kate Bucklin can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 106 or kbucklin@theforecaster.net. |