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\u201cIf you don\u2019t stop, the system will stop you,\u201d says Pastamore owner Vincenzo Curro. Tim Snow \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\nPastamore\u2019s dining room may be closing, but the family behind the longtime West Island institution says the business itself is not.<\/p>\n
Days after announcing the closure of the Dollard-des-Ormeaux Italian restaurant, owner Vince Curro and his son Gianluca revealed plans to launch an online operation selling the business\u2019s fresh pasta and sauces directly to customers.<\/p>\n
The move comes as Curro steps away after more than 30 years of running the business \u2014 not because customers stopped coming, but because he decided it was finally time to slow down.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy health is worth more because if you don\u2019t stop, the system will stop you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Founded in 1981 at March\u00e9 de l\u2019Ouest by Mario and Maria Novati and business partner Nino Ravenda, Pastamore became a fixture in the West Island before Curro took over in the early 1990s. Over the following decades, Curro expanded the menu, developed a catering operation, and, in 2017, moved the business into a larger stand-alone location in Dollard-des-Ormeaux.<\/p>\n
The relocation was a gamble.<\/p>\n
Curro said it represented a $1.2-million investment, and he feared customers would not follow him from the March\u00e9 de l\u2019Ouest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They did.<\/p>\n
Roughly 90 per cent of customers made the move with him, he said.<\/p>\n
Then came the pandemic.<\/p>\n
While many restaurants struggled to survive, Pastamore remained open by shifting to takeout, grocery sales and online ordering. At one point, Curro estimates he was working close to 100 hours a week to keep the business running.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was not going to lose it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you don\u2019t stop, the system will stop you,\u201d says Pastamore owner Vincenzo Curro. Tim Snow \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n
Despite rising food and labour costs, Curro said the decision to retire was ultimately driven by the demands of an industry that never stops.<\/p>\n
During an interview with The Gazette on Monday, customers repeatedly stopped at the restaurant\u2019s entrance to read the closure notice taped to the door.<\/p>\n
Some asked why Curro was closing, and others wanted to know what would happen to Pastamore now that the restaurant had closed its doors.<\/p>\n
For Gianluca, the answer was clear.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t just stop,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s so much history. There\u2019s so much legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n
The family will retain ownership of the Pastamore brand even as another business prepares to take over the restaurant\u2019s former location.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Gianluca said he hopes to eventually expand beyond Montreal, noting the family holds the Pastamore trademark across Canada.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe name\u2019s not dead,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not like it\u2019s over now. It\u2019s just the next step.\u201d<\/p>\n
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