Luigi's Restaurant in Syracuse's Valley neighborhood will close Aug. 27. (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)
Syracuse, N.Y. — An Italian restaurant in the city’s Valley neighborhood will shut down after 70 years in the business.
Luigi’s Restaurant, known for its oversized plates of pasta and Friday night fish dinners, will permanently close the doors at 1524 Valley Drive on Sunday, Aug. 27.
“We would like to thank our loyal customers and family being able to serve you for 70 years,” the Savastino family said in a note to customers. “We also want to thank our manager and current employees for their continued commitment with us as we close our doors.”
Luigi’s has been known for its generous helpings at a reasonable price since Louis “Luigi” Savastino opened up shop in 1954. Savastino moved to Florida several years ago but maintained ownership. He died in October at 91. Merv White had taken over the day-to-day operation in 2019.
On Friday, White continued to greet customers coming in for their weekly fried haddock dinner. During the lunch rush, a few customers grieved about the pending shutdown.
“It’s tough to say goodbye, but it’s time to go,” White said. “There’s not a lot left around here.”
The building was just sold to the owners of The Deli @ 700, a pizza and sandwich shop where South Geddes Street meets Grand Avenue. Sam Deb and his cousin, Mado Abdelk, opened the restaurant last fall. It’ll be celebrating its official grand opening on Monday.
The new restaurant will be called The Deli on Valley. Deb said they’ll offer a similar menu as The Deli @ 700, focusing on breakfasts, hot and cold sub sandwiches, pizza and wings. They’ll also be doing catering out of the building. “If it’s possible, we’re going to make it look better than 700,” he said this afternoon.
Luigi’s is the second pizzeria to close in the neighborhood this year. Pizzaz Pizza, located a mile north at 1916 South Ave., closed in January after 40 years of business.
“Not a lot of decent pizza places around here anymore,” White said. “Hopefully it’ll change.”
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Charlie Miller finds the best in food, drink and fun across Central New York. Contact him at (315) 382-1984, or by email at cmiller@syracuse.com. You can also find him under @HoosierCuse on Twitter and on Instagram. Sign up for his free weekly Where Syracuse Eats newsletter here.
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