Zio Fraedo's closes in Vallejo after a rent dispute
The waterfront Italian restaurant serves its last plate on 25 October after 20 years, once owners could not agree new lease terms with the city.
Zio Fraedo's serves its last bowl of cioppino on 25 October, closing its Vallejo waterfront restaurant after 20 years once owners Tony and Sherry LoForte could not agree new rent terms with their landlord, the City of Vallejo.
The restaurant has run from 23 Harbor Way since 2006, overlooking the marina with a menu of house-made pastas, cioppino and continental tavern dishes built around the family's Italian roots. It became one of the few remaining sit-down tables on Vallejo's working waterfront.
A rent dispute with the city
Unfortunately, we were unable to come to an agreement with our landlord.
The City of Vallejo owns the waterfront parcel and set the terms for the lease renewal. Co-owner Tony LoForte called the offer a take-it-or-leave-it proposition, with an increase he said the business could not absorb. "Unfortunately, after extensive discussions, we were unable to come to an agreement with our landlord," the family said in a statement announcing the closure.
Pandemic-era losses had already forced Zio Fraedo's to drop lunch service years ago, and inflation has since pushed up food, labour and supply costs across the kitchen. The new rent, the LoFortes said, was the piece that finally made the business impossible to sustain.
Some regulars have pushed back on the city's role. One Vallejo resident, reacting to the announcement, said the city was pushing out a loyal, long-running business instead of negotiating a deal that would have kept it open.
What the waterfront site faces next
Vallejo's waterfront has lost more than one operator this year to arguments over cost. Michael Warring, the city's only fine-dining restaurant, is also closing, with its chef planning to move service into a home kitchen in nearby Benicia.
The City of Vallejo has not said what it plans for the Zio Fraedo's site once the lease ends. For a waterfront built around a handful of restaurants, two closures in the same stretch leave an open question over who, if anyone, replaces them.
Tony and Sherry LoForte have not announced new plans of their own. For now, 25 October marks the end of a run that started when the family first opened its doors on the harbour two decades ago.
