Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Prima e Dopo in East Boston to Close

A cafe affiliated with an Italian restaurant that was once featured on a popular Food Network show is closing, and it appears that a conflict between its partners is the reason for its closure.

According to a Facebook post from Rino's in East Boston, the owners of that place have announced that their bar Prima e Dopo--which is located across the street--will be shutting down on June 1, with the post mentioning that "'partnership' is not a friend of Tony and I....We tried our best to make it work, and it did work! Unfortunately not in our partners eyes....when things went bad, we needed the other half to come forward and work together as a team, I'm sorry to say my partner didn't and wouldn't." The note goes on to say that the owners of Rino's considered buying the partner out, but according to them, his price was "ridiculous," with the post concluding by reassuring diners that Rino's will remain in operation.

Prima e Dopo first opened on Saratoga Street in February of 2012, giving those waiting for a table at Rino's a place to go for a drink and/or an appetizer rather than waiting outside. (The cafe also offered desserts as well.)

Rino's gained quite a bit of popularity after it was featured on Guy Fieri's show "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives" in the fall of 2010, with Fieri looking at items such as their lobster ravioli.

The address for Prima e Dopo is 300 Saratoga Street, East Boston, MA 02128.

Thanks to Cappy in Boston for initially bringing this to our attention.

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