If newly-opened Grandi Italiani doesn’t at least double its business in the very near future, the Canoga Park restaurant is going to have to close its doors.
Co-Owner Aron Celnik made a plea Wednesday to Facebook asking for neighbors of Grandi Italiani to patronize the sister eatery to 56-year-old Andre’s Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria.
“I’m sad to give you the news that Grandi Italiani is not getting the business we need to stay open for much longer,” Celnik wrote in the social media message.
“In fact, we need to do double the business just to break even!”
Celnik was originally going to announce that Grandi Italiani’s last day would be Sunday, November 24, “but when I shared this with our customers today, some were clearly upset about it.”
Those customers suggested that Celnik reach out to the Facebook community, “so here goes…”
The response to Celnik’s post has been tremendous, garnering 167 comments and 275 shares as of the publishing of this article.
“If you’re a present customer or a person who has been curious about us but hasn’t come in; if you’ve been wanting to bring in your family or come in with friends who’ve never tried us; if you’re looking for a reasonably priced, neighborhood family restaurant that you can enjoy for many years to come; then NOW is the time to show us some love!”
Sister eatery Andre’s Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria will have to eventually close its doors to make way for an incoming mixed-use development.
“(Andre’s) is there month-to-month until the wrecking ball comes,” Celnik told Eater LA earlier this year.
“We’ll be there until at least June of next year. I’m grateful, because without that income from Andre’s, we’d never make it.”
