Aug. 1, 2024

A longtime pizzeria and Italian restaurant has closed.

Owner Donald Napolitano said he decided to shut down Bella Cucina Italian Ristorante, originally known as Pizza di Paolo, for several reasons.

Identity theft through his vendor payment system led to the loss of $19,000 of working capital, the lease for the restaurant at 2300 S. Minnesota Ave. was coming up for renewal at a higher rate, and four of his 11 employees were leaving to attend college.

The financial hit happened through the ACH system that his 13 vendors used to draw payments.

“They were taking small amounts of money (over a year’s time), and I caught it,” he said of the identity thief.

Napolitano refused to continue using ACH for payments and lost a couple of vendors in the process. He stopped using Wi-Fi for his point-of-sales system and computers in the business, hardwiring everything instead.

He advises other small businesses to take precautions to prevent a financial hit like he sustained.

The restaurant had been part of his life since 2019. Napolitano, then living in California, first came to South Dakota temporarily to help his brother, Dennis, set up Pizza di Paolo. He was involved in the restaurant on and off over the years and bought it after Dennis died and his sister-in-law, Linda, decided to sell it. That was in late 2022, and he changed the name to reflect an expanded menu.

“Our customers loved the food,” he said. “The most popular dish was spaghetti and meatballs. If you claim to be an Italian restaurant and don’t have that, then you’re not Italian.”

Customers were disappointed, he said, after he posted a note on the door a couple of weeks ago about the closure that also said “I am not sure when we will reopen.”

“I got a lot of calls from customers,” he said, asking “When are you going to reopen? We want this, we want that, we miss the place.”

All of the obstacles facing him led to the decision.

Napolitano, who describes himself as an “advanced senior citizen,” said he plans to stay in Sioux Falls and will look for a job as an executive chef.

“I’m still healthy,” he said. “I’m looking for a job that’s 40 hours a week, not 70 hours,” which he had been working as a restaurant owner.

His ideal job would be in an Italian restaurant, but he said he has the skills to work anywhere and can pick up any cuisine.

“I can read and follow a recipe,” he said with a laugh.

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