After decades of service, the owner of Alioto’s Restaurant & Sports Bar in Etna announced it will permanently close its doors March 31.
Lilli Mosco, who has owned the restaurant since 2009, said Alioto’s has not been able to “keep pace” in the face of rising costs, especially after the covid pandemic.
Though she owns the business, Mosco said much of the day-to-day management of the longtime eatery fell on Jacie D’Amico. The niece of Mosco’s late husband, Jeff, who bought the business in 2000, D’Amico took over management and Lilli became sole owner when Jeff died in 2009.
“It was a very difficult and emotional decision to make because it was attached to my late husband and because I knew how important it was to the community,” Mosco said.
The restaurant, originally founded by Frank Alioto in the 1970s, remained open through several tough decades of economic and population decline in Etna. Mosco said dining there became a sort of “right of passage” for locals.
Over the years, she said Alioto’s developed a loyal staff and a devout customer base, hundreds of whom have taken to social media to mourn the loss and share memories.
Mary Ellen Ramage, Etna’s manager, said she hates to see any business leave the borough, but the loss of Alioto’s is especially tough because it’s been a “staple of decades upon decades.”
Though she said it was a “very vibrant place,” Ramage said she understands the decision to close.
“We wish them the best, but they will be missed,” she said.
Mosco said she is having discussions about a potential send-off for the business, but details have not been ironed out yet.