By Kemal,
Pedestrians seeking some of Cincinnati’s most delicious Pizza by the slice got a sudden reminder of the transient nature of things on Monday, 4/18/11.
Located on the 700 Block of Walnut Street, between 4th Street and Fountain Square and next to the Cigar Shop, Capri’s – a small Italian Pizzaria and bistro, owned by a local Italian family, adding innovative twists on authentic Italian Pizza – was unusually closed for business all day on Monday and Tuesday.
On Thursday walking past I noticed that the tables and a good deal of the equipment itself has been moved. This suggests either renovation or shuttering, since there was no notice in the door the later is strongly suspected.
Another casualty of Ohio’s declining economy? Capri’s is well located, in the heart of Cincinnati’s downtown corporate quarter, and certainly received a portion of the lunch time crowd. Since Cincinnati is among the sleepiest major cities in the country, downtown eateries and drinkeries typically rely on Lunch time traffic for a substantial portion of their revenue.
In my opinion, they had the best cannolis in town, their departure will be missed. Though their pizza by the slice was a bit expensive ($3.00 per slice) they were large servings, made with excellent ingredients. My only complaint would be that they were frequently far too hot (I’ve scalded my mouth a few times, even after waiting 5 minutes to cool) and the exquisite lovely manager of the place often seemed to have a dark cloud over her head, mood wise. That said, they had the best cannolis in town, hands down.
Capri’s, if it is indeed closed for good, will be missed.
I use to work at Capri and was sort of a friend of Nikola. (the owner) Went by today to get a slice and disappointingly found it closed down.
Around early April or late March I talked to him for awhile while I waited for my food. I don’t think Cincinnati or Ohio’s economy was to blame for the restaurant’s shut down. From what he told me, business was doing pretty well. However, during our conversation he told me that running a restaurant was extremely frustrating and he really missed being in the finance industry. Although the money from being a business owner was pretty good, he stated he’d much prefer working for somebody else even if it meant less income. He really missed D.C. (where I’m from, ironically) and his old job. Anyways, not trying to put all his business out there. I just hope he pursued his dream and this wasn’t a negative thing on his part.
Irony of ironies, I’m from DC too. What part?
I can totally understand what he expressed, as a former small business owner (not food service) – and from conversations with Restaurant and cafe owners, it is stressful and often thankless.
I wish him success, I was a fan of the place for sure. I still can’t find Canolis that good…
I’m from Silver Spring… Sorta near Wheaton.
I used to love hanging out in Silver Spring, ah the memories.
Lol… I miss home sometimes. Great area.
If you go back to Wheaton, be sure to grab a canoli or a meatball sub from Marchone’s.
I will be sure to, thanks 🙂 I’m on an extended period of travel (hence infrequent updates) and the DC area is next on my list.
I now salivate..