Plantsville’s Fireside on Main restaurant to close

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Timothy Holcomb

For

Mike Mingolello, co-owner of Fireside on Main, stands in the upstairs dining room of the restaurant at 42 W. Main St. in the Plantsville section of Southington in December 2021. Mingolello announced on Facebook the restaurant will be closing Feb. 28.

By Christian Metzger Record-Journal staff

SOUTHINGTON Fireside on Main, a wood fire restaurant in downtown

Plantsville, will be closing its doors on Feb. 28, just shy of a year after opening.

Co-owner Mike Mingolello made the announcement on Facebook, citing struggles to pay rent and utilities on the buildings as the primary factors in the decision to close.

The eatery took the place of Tavern 42 and opened in early March of last year.

“We have made so many friends and absolutely love seeing our regulars, unfortunately with a restaurant that size comes a big monthly rent and utilities which are just not feasible anymore,” said Mingolello on Facebook.

Mingolello was previously the owner of Wise Guys Pizza in Meriden before moving to Plantsville to open Fireside on Main with the support of landlord Dean Michanczyk, owner of Dean’s Stove and Spa adjacent to the property, which provided the ovens for Fireside. At the time Mingolello and Michanczyk were optimistic about the restaurant’s future in Plantsville. Mingolello in his Facebook post wrote that Michanczyk was allowing Fireside to end its lease early.

Neither could be reached for comment on the closing.

Located along West Main Street, Fireside on Main is the second restaurant in Plantsville center to announce it will be closing this month. Zingarella Pizzeria & Ice Cream Cafe, which is lo-

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Zingarella owner Mark Zommer cited rising costs, with food prices having tripled over the past year, along with staffing shortages which made it difficult to stay in business. Inflation not only does it make it difficult to buy food and supplies, but residents are less likely to go out to eat, making it difficult to sustain revenue. Zommer noted how he’d been losing money running Zingarella every year since the start of the pandemic.

With the closure of two tentpole restaurants, town officials worry about the outlook of Plantsville’s many

Dave Zajac, Record-Journal See Fireside, A4

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