In Italian, finalmente means “finally.”
The final day for Finalmente Trattoria — the small but much-loved Italian restaurant across from Design Within Reach on Post Road East, next to Jeera Thai — was last May.
Owners cited the lingering effects of the pandemic, rising costs and staffing shortages as the reasons, after 19 memorable years.
But that was not the finale.
Earlier this month, Finalmente reopened.
The owner is new. The decor is fresh. The menu is revamped.
The new, brighter dining room.
Diners — those who remember the previous restaurant, and those who never ate there — are packing the place.
When I called Giuseppe Cinque at 8:15 one morning last week, I asked how he was.
“Tired!” he said. Every table had been filled the night before. Delighted diners lingered.
Giuseppe and his small staff kept them happy. But he could use at least one more waiter.
Running a restaurant is hard work. It’s even harder when — as at Finalment — so much is made from scratch.
Cinque is as Italian as his name and his menu.
He worked in food and beverage services at hotels around his native country. After many successful years, a meeting with an American wine importer led him to the US.
He still remembers the date he landed: October 28, 1999.
Five years later, Cinque opened his first restaurant: La Strada, in Monroe. Its success led to others, in Norwalk, Bridgeport, Newtown and New Haven.
When he learned of Finalmente’s open space in Westport, the opportunity was too good to pass up.
The kitchen, name and reputation were already there. It was in a town that appreciates excellent food, near other restaurants that attract crowds. He sold Strada Trattoria in Milford, and got to work remodeling and refashioning Finalmente.
“Everyone has been great,” Cinque says. “Zoning, building, the health department, the fire marshal — they’ve all been easy to work with.”
Cinque upgraded the kitchen. He lightened the interior. He hired 2 very experienced chefs. He reworked the menu, taking advantage of daily trips to nearby markets. (He’ll add the Westport Farmers’ Market next month, when it opens around the corner on Imperial Avenue.)
Four of Finalmente’s popular dishes.
“If you do a good job, people appreciate it,” Cinque says. “If you don’t, people don’t forget.”
Early reviews are excellent. But popularity comes at a price. With so few tables — and reasonable prices, and diners so comfortable they like to stay — he hopes to expand outdoors.
Still, he notes, “I don’t want to run too fast. I want to stay in Westport forever.”
(Click here for Finalmente’s website. Their phone number is 203-226-8500.)
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The Finalmente menu. Click on or hover over to enlarge.
