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Business & Tech

Vitello's Preps for Big Changes

With a new chef already in place, the old-fashioned landmark restaurant will get a top-to-bottom makeover, with a grand reopening planned for fall, its general manager says.

For more than half a century,  anchored the corner of Woodbridge Street and Tujunga Boulevard as a dimly lit bastion of old-fashioned Italian food. The landmark eatery features red leatherette menus popular in the 1970s, a foyer full of celebrity photos dating from the 1980s, and a fading mural depicting a Sicilian hillside that decorates a large swath of dining room wall.

All that is about to change.

Vitello's owner Matt Epstein said he plans to make significant adjustments to the traditional restaurant.

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"Here's the reality," he said. "The place has been around since 1964.  It needs  some updating. You can't keep doing the same stuff and expect to stay in business."

For starters, there's a new chef in the kitchen. Tonino Cardia began revamping the menu as soon as he arrived two weeks ago, said Brad Roen, the restaurant's general manager.

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"Chef Tonino is from Sardinia, so he's a fresh-fish fanatic," Roen said. "He also loves stuffed pork chops and rack of lambs and steaks, which we've never had on the menu. Chef Tonino is an emotional Italian chef, so there's a lot of passion in the kitchen."

Vitello's will retain a few signature red-sauce dishes, but diners can look forward to a new emphasis on fresh ingredients.  

"When he got here, Tonino took the can opener and threw it in the trash," Roen said. "Everything is going to be from scratch. The gnocchi will be handmade, the ravioli is hand-stuffed, we're getting fresh herbs delivered three times a week. He's got a light touch, so while it won't be health food, the dishes will  be healthier."

Roen, who ran the now-defunct Eight-18 wine and tapas bar in Toluca Lake before joining Vitello's four months ago, also promised a top-to-bottom renovation of the building. Floor-to-ceiling glass French doors will be installed at the entry. The music room upstairs will be upgraded with new seating and lighting. And the old mural? "It's coming down, like the Berlin Wall," Roen said.  "We might even give pieces of it away."

The restaurant will remain open as renovations take place over the summer. If all goes as planned, the "new" Vitello's will be christened with a grand reopening in October, marked by a wine and jazz festival to be staged in the adjacent, tented parking lot.

"Every aspect of Vitello's will be addressed," Roen said. "We're going to redo the whole dining experience. Some people come here every week and sit in the same booth, so is everybody going to be happy? Not so much. But it's time to change."

A month of Vitello's . . .

Week 1: 

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Week 2: 

Week 3:

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