An Italian restaurant in California now makes an unexpected closure after nearly 40 years in business following rumors of the possibility.
Cassano’s Italian Restaurant in San Clemente, California first opened in 1986, becoming one of the first delivery pizzerias in the neighborhood at the time.
But earlier this month, restaurant workers announced that the owners were retiring.
“Our family would like to announce that our parents Dave Cassano and Sharon Torres are officially retiring,” wrote Tiffany Cassano on Facebook.
“We give a huge thank you to our customers for their support over the past 38 years. This industry is not an easy one and they have overcome many obstacles.
Change is never easy and sometimes rumors circulate so we want to be clear with the community that business is good and the El Camino Plaza landlord has been great.
This is a positive retirement decision for two people that have worked their tails off in local restaurants for 45 years.”
When Cassano’s first opened, it was one of three pizza delivery places in the beach enclave.
Over the years, the restaurant expanded its menu, adding pasta, sandwiches, and salads.
It eventually relocated from Avenida Victoria to El Camino Plaza.
Several fundraisers were held by Cassano’s for the community, including one in 2017 for surfer Leeanne Ericson, who suffered a shark bite.
Dave Cassano and Sharon Torres grew up in Chicago, where they met and got married before moving to Mission Viejo in 1976.
They owned and operated several food establishments in South County but eventually moved to San Clemente to open Cassano’s.
The couple later divorced but remained friends and continued to co-own Cassano’s.
Several generations of their family worked at the restaurant over the years.
“It’s bittersweet to say goodbye but that feeling is superseded by gratitude knowing that our parents can finally retire on their own terms,” wrote Tiffany Cassano, who has worked at the restaurant for nearly 10 years.
“I have so much love for our staff and customers and cherish the time shared with you,” she continued.
“I feel blessed by giving back to our community with fundraisers and truly enjoyed helping and hiring young, shy high schoolers blossom into confident communicators.
Our family enjoyed three generations working together and that was pretty darn special.”
The restaurant is expected to close in June.
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Also Read: An Unexpected Retailer Is Now Closing All Stores in Illinois
Other Economy News Today
A whopping 3,000 retail stores will now close this year after popular clothing brands Rue21 and and Express announced their closures.
The list now grows to approximately 3,100 stores shutting down by the end of this year, per The-Sun.
And this number figure is expected to grow as more businesses announce closures throughout the remainder of the year.
Rue 21 recently announced bankruptcy and a plan to close all 540 remaining stores across the US in the next six weeks.
Express also announced plans on closing over 100 stores across the US in addition to a store closure in Central New York.
If the rising rate of retailers closing down stores continues, an estimated 8,000 locations will be closed by the end of the year.
That many closures would be 40% more than the US saw last year.
In 2023, over 4,000 retailers shut down stores, which was twice the amount of store closures from 2022, according to the National Retail Federation.
2023 also saw the closing of hundreds of Bed, Bath and Beyond stores after the major retailer filed for bankruptcy.
The retailer cited inflation as the primary reason for shutting down its in person stores, moving to an online only format.
The inflation rates from January 2023 to January 2024 increased by 3.1%, with food prices rising by 2.6%, as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In response to the rising rate of inflation, many stores are raising prices or risk closing.
One Canadian supermarket, Loblaws, raised its food prices so dramatically that customers are staging a boycott for the whole month of May.
The Dollar Tree, a retailer known for everything in its stores being $1 or less, announced that it will be raising prices on certain items to as high as $7.
“This year, across 3,000 stores, we expect to expand our multi-price assortment by over 300 items at price points ranging from $1.50 to $7,” the company’s CEO, Rick Dreiling, said during an earnings call.
The last time the discount chain announced a price hike was in 2021 when prices on select items went from $1 to $1.25.
Aside from raising its prices, Dreiling also announced that over 1000 stores will most likely be closing in 2024.
Other major retailers such as Walgreens, Walmart, and JCPenney announced major closures this year.
Walmart announced store closures in California, Ohio, and Maryland–totaling to six closures so far this year.
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Also Read: Retirees Will Now Receive More Money For Social Security
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