Award-Winning McMinnville Restaurant Nick’s Italian Cafe Will Reopen | Eater Portland

"When the owners announced last July via social media that they planned to close, the outpouring of well wishes made clear how beloved this James Beard Award–winning restaurant had been for 46 years; founded by Nick Peirano in 1977, it built its reputation on handmade pastas, wood-fired pizzas with dough topped with mozzarella stretched in-house, and a cozy Backroom Bar — a speakeasy-style billiard room behind the restaurant. Peirano was an early supporter of the Willamette Valley wine industry and a fixture at McMinnville’s International Pinot Noir Celebration, and classic dishes included minestrone, handmade tortelli, and a popular Dungeness crab lasagna that many hope will return. Carmen Peirano ran operations from 2007 and opened Peirano & Daughters next door in 2013; the restaurant received the James Beard Foundation's America’s Classics Award in 2014. After the family cited pandemic-related challenges and closed and listed the businesses for sale, buyers Thomas Ghinazzi, Jordan Neale, and Scott Baldwin purchased the restaurant and plan to reopen this spring, keeping the Nick’s Italian Cafe name while making small updates to the front dining room and blending longtime favorites with new dishes as Ghinazzi learns the family recipes from Carmen." - Emily Teel