A DiCicco’s closes in Fresno after 40+ years. ‘I just didn’t know what else to do’
DiCicco’s Italian Restaurant at First Street and Shaw Avenue has closed.
The classic Fresno restaurant in the Ash Tree Plaza near Ross has been in business for more than 40 years. The other DiCicco’s locations will remain open.
Its last day was Sunday, owner Joanna Vitucci confirmed.
“I just didn’t know what else to do,” she said. “The location has not been doing well, even though it’s an oldie but goodie.”
The restaurant was facing many of the same challenges hitting the industry as a whole: rising prices of food and supplies, increasing minimum wage and pay rates in general, energy bills and more.
Vitucci said the location’s lease had expired and it was renting on a month-to-month basis.
“The food costs have doubled, payroll has gone up, PG&E has skyrocketed,” she said.
Her power bills for July and August were both around $10,000 each, she said.
“When a restaurant is barely making it, you’re barely trying to hold on just because of memories and loyalty to my employees,” she said. “I was hoping to make it a little longer.”
Family restaurant
Daughter of Frank Vitucci (one of the four sons who started the restaurant with their parents back in the 1950s) Vitucci also owns the DiCicco’s locations on West Shaw Avenue, downtown, and in the Sunnyside neighborhood. Today, the rest of restaurants are run by different members of the same family.
Vitucci is hoping people will take their business to the West Shaw location, which is 3.5 miles away.
The closed location had 18 employees, some of whom worked there for 30 years. She’s found jobs for eight of them and is calling family about jobs at other locations, she said.
Vitucci said she originally planned to close earlier this summer. It was delayed as the restaurant owner and the shopping center owner said they both tried to keep it open, but had a disagreement over back rent.
“I’m disappointed,” said Ted Dang, owner of Commonwealth Real Estate in Oakland, who bought the property about two years ago.
He noted that a new restaurant, Mirchi Massala, is opening soon next door.
“We hope we can bring in more new tenants,” he said. “I’m offering the same terms to anyone who wants to take over DiCicco’s.”
That rent would be $5,130 a month, he said.
News of DiCicco’s closure took off in a Next Door post. Many commenters mourned the loss of the restaurant, including its cream of zucchini soup.
Jeri Finch of Fresno said she’d been going to the spot since her son was in elementary school and he’s 45 now.
“The food was always good and the price was reasonable. Sure there are other DiCiccos but they aren’t the same. Sad to see this business along with other great places closing,” the post said.
DiCicco’s closure is one of many in recent months, including the shut down of Fulton Street Coffee in downtown Fresno, Fosters Freeze in Clovis, Javier’s Mexican Restaurant and Starving Artist Bistro in north Fresno.
