Massimo and Merende: Two Italian restaurants open
Life is good. Two Italian restaurants have opened just in time for the holiday noshing season.
Merende opened today.
Massimo opened yesterday.
We've written plenty about Merende here, here and here, the small plates Italian restaurant with Jeff Bishop as the top toque, but we haven't reported on Massimo, which quietly took over the old Beach House at Purdy building after a short-lived wings and pizza restaurant poofed in the middle of the night.
I stopped in to talk to owners Massimo and Cindy Terracciano today, and to confirm that, yes, the view is still pretty spectacular. Click "read more" for their story.
The restaurants are located at:
Merende: 813 Pacific Ave., Tacoma; 253-722-1993,
merenderestaurant.com
Massimo: 13802 Purdy Drive Northwest, Gig Harbor; 253-514-6237, massimobarandgrill.com
Their last restaurant was named after his last name. This restaurant is named after his first. Cindy said the last name proved troubling to pronounce (ter-ah-cheen-ohs). "Everyone called it Massimo's, they would call it Massimo's anyway, so I figured we should name this one that," said Cindy.
Terracciano's operated for five years at 3119 Judson in Gig Harbor (it's now an Italian restaurant under a new owner. We'll have the scoop on them soon).
The story of Cindy and Massimo started more than 20 years ago, in Naples. They met in Italy, and married in 1987. Cindy was a military kid and lived all over the country and world, but always wanted to move back to Tacoma (her father, retired military, is from here). Cindy tried to convince Massimo to return here after they married, but she couldn't get him to budge from Naples. They did decide to leave Italy for Germany in 1997 and lived there for a few years, helping Massimo's brothers with their restaurants in Germany. Armed with the argument that since they had left Italy and because Germany was one step closer to here, Cindy convinced Massimo to leave Europe for Tacoma in 1999. Her father retiring and returning here was a final push. And so they moved. Massimo found work at Pomodoro, Luciano's and Seattle Italian restaurants, too. They now live in University Place.
Gig Harbor's Terracciano's was their dream realized, but the size of the restaurant limited their potential. "We wanted something bigger. We did not have a full bar, just a service bar. Now we have a full bar," said Massimo. He is proud of the new restaurant, with new wood floors, light fixtures and booths that take advantage of that notorious view that helped plant the Beach House at Purdy on the destination restaurant map (Chef Gordon Naccarato's cooking helped keep it on the culinary map, of course).
Massimo and Cindy signed a 20-year lease and Massimo said he intends to work until the end of his career there. "I want to die here, like a gladiator," he said.
The menu is upscale Italian with a family friendly twist, heavy on the pasta. The soundtrack is Sinatra. The view is stunning. Take a look.
This story was originally published December 11, 2008 at 5:01 AM with the headline "Massimo and Merende: Two Italian restaurants open."