BERKELEY — On Wednesday, September 30, 2020, Italian Trattoria La Siciliana will be closed and merge with Agrodolce in North Berkeley.
Agrodolce’s website states:
“From the family that brought you Trattoria La Siciliana – a fixture of Berkeley’s Elmwood district for the past twenty years – Agrodolce is a sister restaurant located in the heart of Berkeley’s Gourmet Ghetto. We are housed in a beautiful brick building that is equipped with a full bar and outdoor seating.”
Trattoria La Siciliana was opened in 1996, when Angelo D’Alo’s, a current owner, parents moved to the Bay Area from Sicily. The restaurant is famous for “Real Italian Family” cooked dishes and homemade pasta like linguine al pesto.
Angelo D’Alo decided to shut down Trattoria La Siciliana because his parents have already retired, and the current COVID-19 restriction impacts their business. He decided to combine two restaurants together since Agrodolce has a full bar and outdoor seating area to provide social distancing.
Angelo D’Alo told BerkeleySide NOSH that “The place used to make money, but in the new normal, because it’s only 11-feet wide, has an upstairs and no second exit, we can’t do social distancing once dining rooms can reopen. The curb is too small for outdoor dining, the place is too old and beat up.”
Agrodolce will add Trattoria La Siciliana’s popular dishes on its menu and reopen La Siciliana in a larger space in Berkeley. After the amalgamation of two restaurants, D’Alo family wants to attract younger customers and takes a cozy vibe to expand opening hours. Agrodolce is currently opening only for dinnertime, but it will provide lunch, brunch, late-night snack, and daily happy hours. It will also host live music performances on weekends.
Check out Trattoria La Siciliana and Agrodolce menu on their websites.
