News | December 29, 2009

Mezzaluna Out, Exile In

News | December 29, 2009

By Ebony Montenegro

Now closed is Mezzaluna’s Amagansett branch and Matto. Sadly after opening this year Mezzaluna will be closing its doors. The good news is that new owners are already setting up shop. Tim Bando, owner of Amagansett’s Meeting House, has scooped up Mezzaluna’s location and is turning it into Exile, a Mediterranean café. Where Matto once stood, Vittorio Assaf and Fabio Granato hope to bring Serafina to the East end. “We are negotiating, but it is not done yet-hopefully by mid January,” says Assaf.

Not everyone is suffering. And some restaurant owners are staying afloat by offering a lot of low-ticket items. Eric Lemonides, owner of the Almond in Bridgehampton says, “you have to create a winter following; a p lace where people will want to go on a Tuesday in February.”