Paul's Pizza by the Foot in Palmetto becomes La Casetta
PALMETTO -- Customers of the former Paul's Pizza By the Foot in Palmetto can still expect to find pizza at 336 Eighth Ave. W., but they'll also find new seafood and meat entres.
La Casetta Ristorante & Pizzeria is an Italian restaurant newly owned and operated by Heike Kruger and her husband, Constantine Mouri. The couple came from Italy to open the restaurant in Palmetto after Paul and Frankie Amato, owners of Paul's Pizza by the Foot, decided to sell the restaurant. Kruger and Mouri and the Amatos almost traded places, as Paul and Frankie Amato traveled to Italy, Paul's home country, for four months after selling Paul's Pizza by the Foot.
"I just told Paul I got to get out of Palmetto," Frankie said. "I needed a break." Frankie lost her daughter, Laura, to heroin addiction in March. Every time Frankie drove over the bridge to Palmetto, she cried. Most of Laura's drug activity was in Palmetto and the last memories she has of her daughter were in the Palmetto restaurant where Frankie and Paul built a successful reputation.
The Amatos planned on retiring when they returned to Bradenton, Frankie's hometown, but they saw an open space on Manatee Avenue and the wheels started turning. In early February, the Amatos plan to open a country kitchen-style diner at 5227 Manatee Ave. W. They left the Palmetto restaurant with Kruger and Mouri at the helm knowing it would continue to be a favorite Italian option.
"They'll do fine over there," Frankie said. "They're a lovely family."
La Casetta, which means "little house," held a grand opening Jan. 3, a couple of weeks after changing the name from Paul's Pizza by the Foot. The business was sold about seven months ago, but the name change waited until Kruger and Mouri arrived from Italy, said Deborah Konnen, assistant manager at La Casetta. Konnen worked at the Palmetto restaurant before, during and after the name change. The new owners kept the familial atmosphere Konnen enjoys working in.
"I love everyone I work with," said
Konnen, who has worked at the restaurant for two years. "It's like a family." She said after close on Sundays, the employees have a "family dinner" together. Five Paul's Pizza by the Foot employees stayed and the La Casetta owners brought on about seven new people to work in the 2,700-square-foot restaurant.
La Casetta's Chef Juan Gomez came from Café Americano, a now-closed Italian bistro in Sarasota. Gomez, Mouri and Kruger worked together on La Casetta's menu. Konnen said the main changes are more seafood and meat dishes such as snapper Torino and salmon Sorrento alongside pizza, stromboli and calzones with gelato for dessert. La Casetta also offers delivery, while Paul's Pizza by the Foot did not.
Gomez will take traditional Italian dishes to the next level, Konnen said.
"They'll still be traditional, but it'll be kind of the fancier side of it, too," she said. Business has already picked up in the new year, Konnen said, and she attributed a lot of it to Florida's busy tourist season.
Two customers who work nearby said they enjoy the restaurant because of the menu selections and good value.
"The pizza was so big I had to take a slice home and it was delicious," said Stacy Hayes, who enjoyed plain cheese pizza on Wednesday afternoon. She visited the restaurant when it was Paul's Pizza by the Foot, had good experiences and wanted to give La Casetta a try. Her lunch companion Amber Dye agreed.
"I like the atmosphere," Dye said, who was on a repeat visit to La Casetta. She returns because it's "quiet and cozy, and they give you huge portions for what you pay," she said. "You really get your money's worth."
Janelle O'Dea, business reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7095 or follow her on Twitter @jayohday.
This story was originally published January 7, 2016 at 12:02 AM with the headline "Paul's Pizza by the Foot in Palmetto becomes La Casetta ."