Calabria Restaurant in Centretown Ottawa is set to close after 42 years in business.
The Italian heritage restaurant has been given notice by the property manager CLV Group to vacate its premises on Bell Street by the end of June.
It's a bitter pill for one of the family owners, Palmo Pasqua."It's been four generations,my late grandfather worked here also in the 70s. Customers used to come in with their kids, now their coming with their own kids" said Pasqua.
Pasqua says Calabria has served generations of Italian families through their life milestones from baptisms to marriages.
The family is now pondering its next move. One option is to build a new restaurant on a parking lot it owns across the street. Building a new restaurant would still take up to a year to set up.
Whatever they choose to do, customers are now reflecting on their memories of the original Calabria Restaurant. "This is a true blue family restaurant, a part of the Ottawa family," says long time customer Tony Germano.
