CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Spiaggia, a Michigan Avenue fixture for 37 years, is closing for good, with the owners saying they could not reach a deal with the landlord on a new lease.
Spiaggia was considered one of the top Italian restaurants in the city, and it earned Michelin stars for several years running.
It opened in 1984.
In 1986, a teenager named Ernesto Rosas went to work there, leaving high school to take the job so that he could send money back to his younger sisters in Mexico. It was his first job.
“I never worked anywhere else,” Rosas, 53, said Friday.
He worked at the restaurant for 35 years. As senior captain, he said, he took care of VIPs, such as the Obamas and Bulls legend Michael Jordan.
“Lady Gaga,” he added. “Very nice, very nice.”
But Rosas said what he really enjoyed was making the young couples who may not be so comfortable in a fancy restaurant feel comfortable.
Spiaggia was his family, he said. He’s sad but said he’ll wait for the next step.
Owners said in a statement posted online that post-pandemic realities made it difficult to move forward:
" ... we were unsuccessful in our efforts with the landlord to restructure our soon-to-expire lease, which was necessary to reflect the realities of operating a restaurant in an office building, post-pandemic.
"It has been such an incredible journey for all of us, and we are beyond proud of, and grateful for, 37 remarkable years."
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