Popular Minnesota Italian Restaurant Closes Permanently After 15 Years

A well-established Italian restaurant in Minnesota is closing its doors after more than a decade in business.

Nonna Rosa's Ristorante Italiano, located in downtown Robbinsdale, announced on Sunday that it was shuttering. The restaurant made the news official with a post on its Facebook page.

"We have made the difficult decision to permanently close our doors. We have enjoyed being a part of this community. Thank you for all of the good times!" the post reads.

Nonna Rosa's was founded in 2010 by former owners Tina and Francesco Suglia. While Tina grew up in Minnesota, her husband was a native of Italy who brought some of the cuisine he learned with him to the Twin Cities area.

The Suglias sold the business in 2020, and its current owner Jason Lyons told CCX that economic concerns led to the restaurant closing last weekend.

“Like many restaurants in this uncertain economy, we are seeing decreased sales and increased expenses, even more so this year,” Lyons said. “We also have been facing increased repairs with this aging building and equipment making continuing impossible. I am proud to have been able to provide jobs for our people and to serve this community for as long as we did.”

In a post on CCX's Facebook page, several people expressed their disappointment about the end of Nonna Rosa's. 

"Sorry to hear this news. A great restaurant, spent many dinners there," one man said.

"One of our favs," a woman added.

"My heart is broken! Can you release a cook book or at least the scampi recipe?" another woman asked.

"My nephew was the cook there," a third woman chimed in.

Tina Suglia also told CCS that even though she and her husband hadn't owned the restaurant in five years, its closure affected her deeply.

“I didn’t realize how hard it would hit me, because that was our life’s work,” Suglia said. “We spent a lot of time there, and we love the community. The impact of everyone’s comments really made us miss that.”