COVID casualty: Lexington restaurant known for wood-fired pizza isn’t coming back
The coronavirus pandemic is claiming another Lexington restaurant.
Bella Forno, the wood-fired pizza and pasta place at the French Quarter Square at 2601 Richmond Rd., will not be reopening.
The restaurant opened as a pizzeria before transforming into Crust around 2014, specializing in crusty wood-fired pizza.
Eventually, legendary Lexington restaurateur Kuni Toyoda changed the name to Bella Forno in 2019 and added some menu items from his popular Bella Notte restaurant to the menu as well.
Toyoda confirmed Monday that the lease will be expiring soon and Bella Forno isn’t moving.
The location has been closed to the public since the COVID-19 restrictions went into effect in mid-March in Kentucky.
Toyoda, a Fazoli’s Hall of Fame member who came up with unlimited breadsticks when he owned five franchises in Lexington, said that he had been using Bella Forno as a commissary for his other restaurants.
Favorite dishes have been added to the menu at Smashing Tomato and Bella Notte, he said, to accommodate customers.
“I do not have a plan to open it again for the near future,” he said, as restaurants are struggling to cope with the ongoing pandemic.
When is Bella Cafe in Chevy Chase opening?
However, there is good news on another front: Toyoda said that he expects to open his new Bella Cafe in Chevy Chase in mid-November for takeout and delivery.
The new restaurant in the former Le Matin bakery and Zuni cafe spot on High Street is finishing up reconstruction now, he said.
Le Matin closed in August 2019 when owners Abbas and Debbie Larian retired after 37 years of serving French baguettes and delicate desserts, along with soups, salads and quiches.
“We will start with limited Le Matin’s items such as Abbas’s baguette and Debbie’s apple and fruits tarts as well as perfect lemon pie and walnut pie,” Toyoda said in an email.
Eventually Bella Cafe will offer a broader menu.
“We will keep expanding both restaurant and bakery menu items as we gain more efficiency,” Toyoda said.
