Pioneer Square Italian restaurant joins growing list of closures after World Cup, owner cited escalating costs

Luigi’s Italian Eatery is slated to shutter next month after more than a decade of operations in Pioneer Square, becoming the latest of many restaurants to close down following a surge in business from the World Cup.

The owner, Angela Williams, cited a 40% rent increase, rising food costs, and minimal city support as the reasons for closing the restaurant on Sept. 19, according to The Puget Sound Business Journal.

“You can only fight for so long when you have no advocacy, when you don’t have a government that listens and cares for you, when you have this climate of constantly rising prices,” she said.

After her husband and the restaurant’s namesake, Luigi De Nunzio, passed away in 2017, Williams ran the authentic Italian eatery with the help of her son and daughter.

“Luigi was a Pioneer Square staple, and people from all over frequent the restaurant to pay tribute to the late chef and enjoy the flavors that Luigi brought to the square from his home country,” Luigi’s Italian Eatery stated.

Pioneer Square restaurant survived the pandemic but couldn’t overcome rising costs

Luigi’s family struggled through the COVID-19 pandemic, as did many other businesses in the area, but were able to keep the restaurant’s doors open. At the time, the restaurant was planning to move to a new location in the Spring of 2021, but the plan never came to fruition.

Drawing on his time at several other Italian restaurants in the Seattle area, Luigi opened Al Boccalino in 1989 and Denunzio’s in 1992, where he began hosting cooking classes influenced by his interest in ancient Roman and regional Italian cooking styles.

Luigi’s, operating out of a 3,000-square-foot space at 211 First Avenue S, was a Pioneer Square neighborhood staple, whipping up homemade meatballs and pasta, served alongside its expansive wine list.

“Luigi’s has been part of the fabric of this neighborhood for more than 30 years, so this is a real loss for Pioneer Square,” Tija Petrovich, Alliance for Pioneer Square board member, told The Puget Sound Business Journal. “To see a longtime business that made it through the pandemic ultimately close under the weight of rising costs is especially difficult.”

Luigi’s is one of many other Pioneer Square businesses to close since the World Cup left town in early July, joining the 49-year-old Magic Mouse Toys and 23-year-old Collins Pub, which both closed earlier this month.

World Cup brought visitors, but Williams said it wasn’t enough

Despite the World Cup drawing in more than 3.7 million unique visitors in July alone, Williams noted that the increase was simply not enough to keep them afloat.

“The World Cup was a nice pop. I have nothing bad to say about it,” Williams told The Puget Sound Business Journal. “There was a holdout among some [businesses] that, ‘if we can make enough money during the World Cup to get through the winter, then we’ll stay.’ But it just didn’t happen.”

Williams also pointed to the emotional and financial strains of operating the restaurant as of late, and is not considering the restaurant opening in a new location.

While many businesses have moved out, it also makes room for more to come in. Among the many new tenants in Pioneer Square are Casa Gabriele, a full-service Italian restaurant; Be Mi; Argentum Bakery; and two cocktail bars: Doris Social and Spaces Available.

“We’re encouraged by the new businesses opening and the renewed energy we’re seeing across Pioneer Square, and we remain optimistic about what’s ahead for the neighborhood,” Petrovich told The Puget Sound Business Journal.

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