Pacific Palisades restaurateurs Chef Gianbattista “Gianba” and Marlo Vinzoni have closed their Venice restaurant, Cinque Terre West, as they prepare to relocate the concept to Austin, Texas, this month.
The restaurant, which specializes in authentic Ligurian regional cuisine with dishes such as roasted Branzino alla Mediterranea, Spaghetti di Mare, Trofie al Pesto and Pollo al Limone, ended its run at its 50-seat location on Rose Avenue in Venice on June 21. The restaurant is scheduled to reopen for dinner service this month in Austin.
While the Vinzonis still own their Pacific Palisades home, Marlo Vinzoni said the house is currently uninhabitable. The property suffered severe water damage during the response to the January 2025 Palisades fire and from subsequent winter storms.
“We were actually in Austin when the fire was going on,” Vinzoni said, recalling how the couple quickly flew back to Los Angeles. “We saw the entire fire from the plane.”
The move marks a major Texas expansion for the couple, who already operate three locations of the Italian bakery and cafe Ciccio Bomba in the Austin area. The cafe is a partnership with stand-up comedian, actor and podcaster Tom Segura, who was a regular customer when the Vinzonis operated in the Palisades.
“He used to be one of our regulars in the Palisades, but then he moved to Austin,” Vinzoni said of Segura. “We were talking to him about doing something together.”
According to the company’s website, Segura partnered with the couple to bring his favorite Italian pastries from Southern California to Texas. The first Ciccio Bomba opened at the Fareground, a food hall and culinary marketplace, in downtown Austin in November 2025. A second location opened at the Scarborough Building in March, followed by a flagship location on South Lamar Boulevard in May, which features a full bar and an extended menu.
The Vinzonis have a deep culinary history in Pacific Palisades. They opened Cinque Terre West on Monument Street in 2019 before closing it in June 2024. On the same street, they also operated the wine bar Enoteca Cinque and the eatery DELIzioso Cinque.
Following the Palisades Fire, the Vinzonis temporarily operated a joint menu for Cinque Terre West and DELIzioso Cinque at The Colony food hall on Lincoln Boulevard beginning in March 2025, before launching the Venice location later that summer.
“We’re confident that it’ll be successful here,” Marlo Vinzoni said of the Austin community.
Gianba Vinzoni grew up in Bonassola, Italy, and discovered he loved cooking while spending time with his grandmother in the kitchen as a child. Vinzoni served five years in the Italian navy then moved to Los Angeles in 1995. Before launching his own ventures, he held culinary positions at Soho House in West Hollywood, the Beverly Hilton and Fig & Olive.
“I try to create a very simple and good cuisine that everybody can enjoy,” Gianba Vinzoni said.
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