Beloved Capital Region Italian Restaurant To Close After 18 Years

An Italian restaurant in Albany County is closing its doors after nearly twenty years of serving the Capital Region. The owner is retiring, and the decision wasn't easy.

MezzaNotte on Western Avenue in Albany is shutting down after eighteen years of serving the Capital Region.

Owner Connie Ware left a heartfelt message on the MezzaNotte Facebook page:

Connie and Mitch Ware have been a big part of the local restaurant scene for nearly two decades. They bought the property on Western Avenue in 2006 and opened MezzaNotte the following year.

According to the Albany Business Review, over the years, some well-known chefs passed through their kitchen, including Michael Mastrantuono (now at 15 Church), Elliott Vogel (The Delaware), and Mark Graham (formerly of Taste, Forno Bistro, and Max London’s).

In 2016, about nine years after launching MezzaNotte, they opened their second restaurant, Warehouse Grill & BBQ, on Wolf Road. Interestingly, their original plan was to open a barbecue restaurant first, but MezzaNotte came to life instead.

Mitch retired after Warehouse Grill & BBQ shut its doors in October 2023, and Connie has been thinking about retiring for over six years. They aren't saying what's next for the MezzaNotte building. Their Western Avenue property, near Route 155 is a 3,600-square-foot building that includes a dining room with seating for 66, a bar area with 16 high-top tables, a 20-seat patio, a full basement, and an upstairs event space.

The final day of service is Saturday, April 12th.