For all pasta lovers that flocked to Perricone’s Marketplace & Cafe have been left with an empty space in their hearts and stomachs since the restaurant shockingly closed. However, with the announcement of a reopening in a second location, plenty of rumors have begun to swirl around.
More importantly, everyone is wondering what is going to happen to Perricone's. Why did such a bustling restaurant close? Is this new location totally different? And most importantly, will $10 Pasta Thursdays continue?
To clear up some rumors, read below to hear straight from Perricone’s owner, Steven Perricone.
Why did Perricones leave Brickell?
Steven Perricones: For years, there were ongoing problems with the family that owns the park that Perricones is on. About five years ago, citizenM, a luxury boutique hotel chain, came to me about buying the property. I didn’t want to leave the location but I was in the middle of the whole legal problem. The deal was to sell the land, but not the name or the restaurant.
I’ve been in the restaurant business for 40 years, my intention was to always continue. I’ve spent the last 26 years of my life in that corner. It was an iconic location with the trees and the roof opening. We actually took all the reclaimed wood, the barn, and all the elements that gave it a rustic feel.
Where’s the new restaurant going to be?
SP: It is literally 3/10 of a mile where the old place was. We bought the old pilates studio that was there, Sanctuary Seven, in The Roads which is west of Brickell. It it set to open in the summer, once all the permitting is complete.
What can customers expect at the new location?
SP: It’s still going to be a market and a restaurant and we’ll keep a lot of the classic menu items that have been popular over the years. However, there will be some tweaks to the menu and a general update to it all. There will also be a full liquor bar with outside seating.
For the most part, I have a very strong catering and delivering concept that will remain. The biggest difference is that it’s going to be a much smaller restaurant. The Brickell location had 300 seats and now we’ll have 150 seats. (Ironically, Perricone's was only 150 seats but we had to lease the extra space at the park from the City of Miami to accommodate for the demand.)
However, there’s going to be plenty of parking available and there’s even a golf cart shuttle to the Mary Brickell area going back and forth to the restaurant.
Is Perricone’s Pasta Thursdays still going to happen?
SP: I don’t know the answer to that question. That’s still up in the air. The larger restaurant before made pasta Thursdays work. We have to see if the new restaurant can handle it, or at least something similar.
We started Pasta Thursday’s back when the economy was really bad in 2008. It was something to do while everyone was getting back on their feet and we didn’t know what was going to happen. We never thought it would keep going for the next ten years. It’s been unstoppable.
How has it felt to get such an emotional response from the community?
SP: It’s been a tremendous compliment to myself and all of my employees. I accomplished at Perricone’s what I wanted to. I have 20 something years of history in the restaurant business and that’s an accomplishment. There aren’t that many long standing restaurants. The market and the restaurant was so well received, I felt that I wanted to continue that.
The new restaurant will be tried and true, there’ll just be some minor changes.
What is going on with Perricone’s right now?
SP: We’re still doing catering and we deliver on Uber and Postmates. We still have the same website and phone number and we’ll continue that until we open the new location.
1700 SW 3rd Ave. Miami, FL 33129
305-374-9449
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