It is so decreed:
Lia’s Mountain View Restaurant shall not close until there is no food left in the pantry and every fridge is empty.
So say Lia’s owners, the siblings Rosalie Cort, Vincenza (Vinny) Mirto, Maria Wright and head chef Nick Mirto.
After 40 years of feeding the community, after countless weddings, graduations, anniversaries, christenings, class reunions, romantic encounters and banquets, Lia’s owners are closing their storied Pine Plains restaurant.
The final regular night of business will be Dec. 29. Some restaurants would simply usher the last patrons out and lock up. But that wouldn’t be Lia’s. At 3 p.m. on Dec. 30, the ever-generous Mirto family and friends will host a Farewell Open House with a cash bar and a complimentary buffet until the food runs out.
For many regulars, the news is hard to take. On a recent evening, two friends, Kathy Blackburn and Patricia Nanetti, both of Pine Plains, reminisced about meatballs and penne alla vodka, dishes they have savored at Lia’s for many years. “It’s very sad that they are closing, but I’m happy for them,” Nanetti said. “They’ve worked so hard.”
Blackburn embraced Nick Mirto when he was on a break from the kitchen. “The Mirtos were very kind to my mother,” she said. “It’s about family. And that’s all I can say before I tear up.”
When Giuseppe (Joe) and Antonina (Nina) Mirto, both immigrants from the village of Monreale in Sicily, opened Lia’s Mountain View in 1983, they probably had no idea the venture would last 40 years, an astonishing run for any restaurant.
The restaurant became an island of hospitality in a rural area where lives can be disconnected. The Mirtos offered scholarships to students wishing to go to college, and every Christmas they would serve a meal and deliver presents to families in need. They did it quietly, without publicity. Close to 100 Pine Plains Central School District students worked at Lia’s over the years, launching their various dreams.
When the restaurant celebrated its 40th anniversary this past August, people came from as far away as Florida.
“It’s bittersweet,” said Maria Wright, through tears, of the closing. “We’ve made a lot of good friends. It has been an honor to be part of this community. All the well-wishers we heard from on Facebook, it is truly a great feeling.” She thanked the staff for “being part of the story” and the customers for their years of support.
“I truly believe my grandparents are proud of all that we have accomplished and understand this difficult decision,” added Mackenzie Killmer.
(Those experiencing withdrawal from Lia’s can take some solace. Soon, Killmer will open her new venture, the Storybook Cafe, next to Peck’s Grocery Store.)
The property on Route 82 has not been sold, but Jack and Irene Banning have espressed interest in buying it. The Bannings, New York City transplants who are active in the Pine Plains Episcopal Church of the Regeneration, own Black Sheep Hill Farm, which today is home to one of the country’s largest flocks of Black Welsh Mountain sheep. They also raise 30 feeder pigs, keep over 200 chickens and raise vegetables. “It is our intention to purchase the property,” said Jack Banning. “Irene and I are working with Mackenzie Killmer on what comes next.”
Once they serve their last meal at Lia’s, the four siblings intend to “take it easy for a little bit,” said Wright. “It’s truly a blessing that we’ve made it this long.”