One of L.A.’s celebrated Italian restaurants is set to close after nearly a decade of handmade pastas, Bolognese specialties and amari in downtown’s Fashion District.
Chef-owner Steve Samson and his wife and business partner, Dina Samson, debuted Rossoblu in 2017 as an anchor of the industrial mixed-use City Market South plaza to great acclaim. The Bologna-inspired restaurant, which draws on Steve’s own Italian heritage, was favorably reviewed by late Times Food critic Jonathan Gold and has appeared on the L.A. Times 101 list of best restaurants.
On Friday, the Samsons announced the restaurant will close Nov. 1, but hinted at more to come for the 7,500-square-foot space.
“While Rossoblu is closing, the story of this beautiful space isn’t over,” they wrote in a joint statement published to Instagram and their mailing list. “We can’t share what’s coming next quite yet, but it has an exciting and delicious future.”
By phone that afternoon, the Samsons cited a range of reasons for the closure, including the end of their lease coinciding with a difficult environment for independent restaurants that involves the rising cost of goods and services and inconsistent patronage. It proved harrowing for years, they said, resulting in declines to their physical and mental health. With the exception of the World Cup, Steve said business this year has been “brutally slow.”
The cyclical nature of the restaurant industry — with lucrative months often surrounding the holiday season but fallow times during summer vacations and the start of the year — led the couple to consider hanging on, but also added stress. According to Dina, they’d been considering the closure for about a year and a half.
“We didn’t really enjoy the quality of life it was affording us,” Steve said. “There were no advantages to owning the restaurant versus doing anything else. We weren’t thriving, and it just became too much to handle between the two of us. We felt it was time to step away from it, because it’s not a healthy lifestyle.”
Their Westside restaurant, Superfine Playa, closed at the end of last year for similar reasons. The future of Rossoblu’s tandem pizzeria, Superfine, remains undetermined.
While Dina is unsure of any future role in the restaurant industry, she said she will remain involved with Regarding: Her and the Independent Hospitality Coalition, two organizations founded to help champion and aid restaurateurs and chefs as they navigate the business. Steve said he will remain cooking in L.A., but did not provide further details.
In a 2017 review, Gold called Rossoblu’s handmade pastas “ephemeral” and said the tortelloni “could illustrate the concept of Italian dumplings in a textbook.” Gold also praised its coal-roasted vegetables and the chicken cooked under a brick — enjoying the simpler, more homestyle Italian renditions than some of those found at a previous Samson restaurant, the since-shuttered and influential Sotto.
Until Nov. 1, guests still can witness Steve preparing these dishes along with others that might have dropped from the menu in recent years. In its last two months, the owners will revive some fan-favorite items and host special events such as a “Chef Steve and friends dinner” with guest chefs. Another planned event will honor the restaurant’s staff both past and present.
“We really want to celebrate the restaurant and how it was such a big part of our lives for almost 10 years,” Steve said.
All previous reservations and special events booked beyond Nov. 1 still will be honored, and the team will continue to book private events through December. At-home feasts for Thanksgiving and Christmas still will be offered this year, and the Samsons are considering a blowout New Year’s Eve soirée too. One of the last events to be held in the restaurant will be the wedding of Rossoblu’s chef de cuisine and sous chef, who met while working at the restaurant.
“People want to think it’s sad — and I guess it is sad because people that love it won’t be able to go anymore — but we want it to really be a celebration,” Dina said. “Steve will still be cooking in L.A. He’s not going anywhere, and I’ll still be here to help people that need help in the industry.”
Rossoblu is located at 1124 San Julian St. in downtown Los Angeles and is open Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday from 5 to 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 5 to 9:30 p.m.
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