{"id":128620,"date":"2026-03-03T18:36:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T18:36:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/128620\/"},"modified":"2026-03-03T18:36:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T18:36:10","slug":"two-longstanding-berks-county-restaurants-to-close-in-march","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/128620\/","title":{"rendered":"Two longstanding Berks County restaurants to close in March"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two longstanding restaurants in Berks County will be shutting their doors permanently in March.<\/p>\n

Willoughby\u2019s on Park in Wyomissing is slated to have its last day March 14.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter over a decade of being the premier, fine dining steakhouse in our community, we have made a difficult and bittersweet decision to sell our business to another local family,\u201d owners George and Eleny Zeppos said in a Facebook post.<\/p>\n

Mangia! Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria in Mohnton will also be shuttering March 8.<\/p>\n

Owner and head chef Giuseppe Folino made the announcement on Facebook with \u201ca heavy, but grateful heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

He noted his family is opening a second Caf\u00e9 Folino location in Temple.<\/p>\n

The Folinos own Folino Estate Winery and Caf\u00e9 Folino in Wyomissing.<\/p>\n

Willoughby\u2019s<\/p>\n

George and Eleny Zeppos resurrected the Willoughby\u2019s brand in 2014, taking up shop in the former TGI Fridays on Park Road.<\/p>\n

Wilkoughby\u2019s on Park is less than a mile from the original Willoughby\u2019s, a hot spot in the 1970s and \u201980s.<\/p>\n

The Zeppos said on Facebook that the decision to close didn\u2019t come easy, but they felt it was best aligned with their future goals.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver the years, we have grown to know so many of you and have been blessed to have seen so much joy and laughter within our walls,\u201d the Zeppos said on Facebook. \u201cWe have had so many fond memories on Park and can\u2019t thank our community enough for their tremendous support.\u201d<\/p>\n

They said they were beyond grateful to the staff and team members who made Willoughby\u2019s a leading restaurant in the area.<\/p>\n

Their announcement received hundreds of comments from well-wishers.<\/p>\n

Patrons reminisced on birthdays, anniversaries and even proposals at Willoughby\u2019s, and recounted many nights well-spent in culinary bliss.<\/p>\n

\u201cWilloughby\u2019s on Park was always a wonderful restaurant for special occasions, or anytime you just wanted to feel special,\u201d one commenter said.<\/p>\n

The Zeppos also own Telia Perfect Greek across the street from Willoughby\u2019s at 400 N. Park Road.<\/p>\n

They formerly owned the Hitching Post in Bern Township, which closed in 2024 and is being renovated under new ownership.<\/p>\n

The Willoughby\u2019s property will soon be reintroduced as TAO Japanese Steakhouse and Bar, the new owners said on Facebook.<\/p>\n

They said their vision is to create a premier Japanese steakhouse known for exceptional quality, consistency and hospitality.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not simply a reopening \u2014 it is a complete transformation. Our team is elevating every aspect of the experience, with upgraded menus, a more sophisticated Hibachi dining atmosphere, and Japanese Omakase,\u201d TAO Steakhouse said on Facebook.<\/p>\n

Omakase, which means \u201cI leave it up to you,\u201d is a Japanese dining style that places guests face-to-face with a chef, usually at a sushi counter. The chef guides the food choices and makes decisions on the next course based on what they think guests will enjoy.<\/p>\n

The new owners thanked the Zeppos for the opportunity.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have built an incredible legacy here and we have some very big shoes to fill,\u201d TAO said.<\/p>\n

Mangia!<\/p>\n

Mangia opened 16 years ago as a simple idea, but grew into something far more meaningful, owner Giuseppe Folino said on Facebook.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis restaurant was never just a business \u2014 it was a community,\u201d Folino said in the post thanking customers. \u201cYour support, loyalty, conversations, laughter and shared meals have meant more to me than we can properly put into words.\u201d<\/p>\n

Folino said he was deeply grateful to everyone who trusted Mangia! with their time and memories.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am incredibly proud of what we built together and deeply grateful to everyone who walked through our doors, brought friends and family, celebrated milestones with us, or simply stopped by for a comforting meal,\u201d Folino said<\/p>\n

The spot is known for its quality pizza and hefty servings of pasta prepared tableside and mixed in two massive cheese wheels.<\/p>\n

Patrons mourned the loss of their favorite Italian fare in comments on Facebook.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is where my son (now 15) tasted his first raviolis,\u201d one patron said.<\/p>\n

They accompanied their post with a picture \u2014 a child grinning ear to ear above a giant empty bowl, his face painted with pasta sauce.<\/p>\n

Folino told MediaNews Group that he made the difficult decision to close Mangia! since he plans to work at the second Caf\u00e9 Folino and would no longer be able to manage both locations.<\/p>\n

He said he and his wife and co-owner, Anna Folino, have been in the restaurant business for 40 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe dedicated pretty much half our life to the restaurant business,\u201d Folino said. \u201cWe sacrificed a lot\u2026We want to enjoy life a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said when the first Caf\u00e9 Folino opened two years ago, he was working 15 hour days, splitting his time between there and Mangia!, until his son took over the caf\u00e9.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t have any other sons that want to take over (a restaurant),\u201d Folino said. \u201cWe didn\u2019t want to let Mangia! go\u2026but we had to make a (hard) decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

The new Caf\u00e9 Folino will be at the former Oliver\u2019s Place sandwich shop at 1007 Mount Laurel Road in Temple.<\/p>\n

Folino noted fans of the restaurant can look forward to Mangia! Night at Caf\u00e9 Folino in Wyomissing.<\/p>\n

He said he plans to hold the night once a month, and bring back customer favorites from Mangia!, like the tableside cheese wheel.<\/p>\n

Folino also plans to offer catering services for events at Caf\u00e9 Folino or private locations.<\/p>\n

Mangia! gift certificates are redeemable at Caf\u00e9 Folino, Folino said.<\/p>\n

As for the Mangia! property, Folino said he would likely be looking to lease it out.<\/p>\n

\"Mangia!Mangia! at 322 E. Wyomissing Ave. in Mohnton will be closing effective March 8. (BILL UHRICH\/MEDIANEWS GROUP)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Two longstanding restaurants in Berks County will be shutting their doors permanently in March. Willoughby\u2019s on Park in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":128621,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[349,60,10210,28,128,130,129,133],"class_list":["post-128620","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reading","tag-berks-county","tag-business","tag-mohnton","tag-pennsylvania","tag-reading-city","tag-reading-city-headlines","tag-reading-city-news","tag-wyomissing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128620","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=128620"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128620\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/128621"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=128620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=128620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=128620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}