The rumors careening around town are true: Mario’s is being sold.
The legendary restaurant/bar — a Saugatuck mainstay since 1967 — will change hands soon. A new name, cuisine and interior will follow. The deal could be finalized tomorrow morning.
New owners Kleber, Nube and Vicente Siguenza own 5 restaurants in Fairfield and New Haven Counties (including 55 Degrees in Fairfield).
Mario’s: A Westport legend.
Mario’s will remain as it is for the next year. It will then transform into Harvest Wine Bar — similar to the Siguenzas’ restaurant of the same name in Greenwich. Harvest offers modern American custom cuisine with Asian, Latin and Mediterranean influences, plus an extensive wine list. Harvest supports local, organic farms.
Mario’s — the official name was Mario’s Place, but no one called it that — was opened by Frank “Tiger” DeMace and Mario Sacco. Its across-from-the-train-station location was perfect for commuters looking for a drink and dinner. Wives picking up their husbands stopped in too.
Mario’s quickly became a beloved family restaurant. Its menu — featuring enormous steaks, popular Italian dishes and large salads — seldom changed. Neither did the comfortable, homey decor. That was part of its charm.
For nearly 50 years Mario’s has been Westport’s go-to place to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries and promotions — or commiserate over job losses and divorces.
Mario died in 2009.
Tiger died in 2012. His daughter Lori now co-owns Mario’s, with her brother Dominic DeMace.
“My father told us to keep it for a year, but not worry about having to sell it,” Lori said this afternoon. “The restaurant was his journey, not ours.”
Frank “Tiger” DeMace
It’s been 3 years since Tiger’s death. Lori and her husband Fletcher have a 6-year-old daughter.
“It’s time,” Lori said. “I love Mario’s — the customers, the staff — but times have changed. It was a long, hard decision. But my father didn’t make us feel we had to keep it.”
Rumors have swirled for years that all of Railroad Place — with Mario’s smack in the middle — will be torn down, as part of Saugatuck’s Phase III renewal.
Lori and Dominic own the Mario’s building. The Siguenzas will operate Harvest on a long-term lease.
The rest of Railroad Place is owned by a different landlord. What will actually happen across from the station is pure speculation.
Meanwhile — 3.5 miles north — other rumors have the Red Barn being sold to the Westport Family Y.
The Y did not comment.
