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After five years in business, La Strada has closed on East Fourth Street. Saturday night was the restaurant’s last night of service. Tarantino says that he prefers to focus all of his attentions on his other restaurant, La Dolce Vita, which has operated for 25 years in Little Italy.

“I should have done this a while ago,” he says. “I’m a Little Italy guy and I need to stay focused on Little Italy. It’s not an easy gig down here with expensive parking and the long, slow winters.”

Tarantino says he entertained purchase offers from a number of suitors, but Michael Symon made the most sense.

“This street needs another Symon restaurant,” he adds. “This is a good move for me, for Symon, the Marons, and all the other people on this street. It’s a win-win for everybody.”

Doug Petkovic, partner at Michael Symon Restaurants, confirmed the purchase.

“We love East Fourth Street and as soon as we heard that Terry’s place was available, we went after it,” he says. “The street is very vibrant and successful, and the Marons have done a fabulous job of creating an entertainment district, and we feel very fortunate to be a part of it.”

Symon and his team have not yet made a decision on a concept for this location, but intend to do so very quickly.

“Once we settle on the concept, we will go ASAP and I’d be shocked if we weren’t open in 45 days,” Petkovic adds.

With reporting by Jason Beudert

This article appears in Jun 11-17, 2014.

For 25 years, Douglas Trattner has worked as a full-time freelance writer, editor and author. His work as co-author on Michael Symon's cookbooks have earned him four New York Times Best-Selling Author honors, while his longstanding role as Scene dining editor has garnered awards of its own.

16 replies on “Terry Tarantino Closes La Strada on Fourth Street. Michael Symon to Open Restaurant”

  1. Why? Cause he’s a celebrity? It takes honest, hard-working Clevelanders months to get permits and inspections shoved through this bureaucratic nightmare of a city, he’ll be open in 45 days?

  3. I agree. I feel like he’s got enough already. It’s no fun if all the restaurants in Cleveland belong to the same guy. Boring. Give someone else a turn.

  4. So what if Symon’s a celebrity? He’s a prime example of a very hard-working Clevelander! Y all the hate? Give someone else a turn? I have nothing but mad respect for Chef Symon & all of his accomplishments. -Born & raised in Cleveland…

  7. One might think that such a “vibrant and successful entertainment district” would be able to sustain more diverse development than this.

  8. Cleveland Frowns, I live on Fourth Street and I can tell you first hand it is in fact a very vibrant and successful entertainment district. It’s jammed every day of the week.

  11. PH8059: Yes E4th street is jammed every day but “vibrant and successful” should also mean “diverse.” That there’s such little competition for restaurant ownership on such a highly trafficked street looks like another glaring symptom of an economy where the gap between the haves and have-nots continues to widen and deepen to an historic extent.

  12. Frowns, what do you want to take up space there, a McDonald’s? It’s an upscale district but there are several reasonably priced restaurants there too. You can’t be everything to everyone.

  13. I’d love a new business – but make it something unique instead of another thing that Cleveland already has 4 of.

  14. Frownie makes a great point. At the very least, Symon can’t get too big because Cleveland already whored itself out to Gilbert with his casino. They rake in profits in half a month that probably equal what Symon earns from all his restaurants in a year.

  15. It was a nice place…shame to see it go…and what are Symon’s restaurants if not an upscale foodie chain? Too dark, too pricey, portions too small for a cat. “Celebrity chef “is an oxymoron…like jumbo shrimp and giant economy size.

    I’m tired of hearing about his new ventures and what Symon says. Take that celebrity crap to South Bitch or Lost Angeles. Or even Chicago.

    And yes, Frowns is right…we have been a two tier society since Reagan’s watch…and Cleveland is a glaring example of that. This is not an all-yuppie town lie San Francisco or Boston. But SCENE seems to think it has morphed into a Midwestern version of one. Dream on, kids…do some exploring and learn a few things about what’s really going on out there.

    Chuckles the Clown

  16. Love Michael Symon but kinda wish his buddy Bobby Flay would open something up nearby for a little friendly competition.

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