Popular South Coast Plaza eatery to reopen

Jennifer Kho

COSTA MESA -- After hundreds of customers wrote letters protesting its

closure a month ago, Caffe Pasquini will reopen Thursday at South Coast

Plaza.

“We were devastated when we got word they were closing, so we

marshaled our resources,” said Tony Mazzone, a customer for more than 20

years. “I went to all the customers here and asked them to fill out

comment cards to send to mall management if they wanted the place to stay

here.

“It’s sort of an icon here because it’s been here so long. People

rallied around it, and the comment cards had some effect. We’re very

pleased with the fact that it is going to open up again.”

The 23-year-old cafe’s lease ended and a planned expansion would have

required the business to move, South Coast Plaza spokeswoman Debra Gunn

Downing said Tuesday.

The expansion was delayed until at least the end of the year, however,

and it made no sense to leave the space sitting empty until the

expansion, she said.

“The restaurant has been an institution at South Coast Plaza -- a

really popular spot for morning coffee and a place to meet -- and there

was a lot of disappointment that it was closing,” she said.

“The restaurant has been very popular with the community and the

employees in the shopping center, and we’re delighted they were able to

reopen and stay with us at least through the end of the year,” she added.

“The plan is that, in the meantime, we will try to relocate [Caffe

Pasquini] in the center.”

Matteo Pasquini, general manager of the eatery, said his family had no

intention of reopening the business after it closed.

“It was the end of our lease, and we had so many projects going on in

L.A. that we didn’t really consider extending our lease here,” he said.

“We got a lot of regulars who said, ‘How can you do this to your

regulars?’ I mean, we’re not the only place.

“But [South Coast Plaza] twisted our arm and agreed to work with us to

change some things. South Coast Plaza is a very unique place with no food

courts and a real sidewalk cafe design, and with the changes they were

willing to give us, it worked out well.”

The changes included fixing and replacing an old drainage system,

adding equipment, such as a pasta cooker, pizza rollers and an Italian

fryer, and adding an espresso bar.

“The place is old, and we wanted to replace some things,” Pasquini

said. “This gave South Coast Plaza and Caffe Pasquini a chance to change

things that were old, things we couldn’t work on while we were open. We

felt these new things would make it more exciting.”

The grand reopening at 8:30 a.m. Thursday will include free

cappuccinos for the first two hours, he said.