Popular Vista restaurant closing current location, set to reopen with new name
A restaurant that has been a longtime staple in Columbia’s Vista area is closing its doors — temporarily.
When Ristorante Divino reopens, it will be next door to its current location at 803 Gervais Street. The popular Italian eatery will also have a new name — di Vino Rosso, owner Brad Spehl said in a news release.
Spehl said he and executive chef, Mike Deevey are restoring part of the historic Dupre Building at 807 Gervais Street for the restaurant that has been in business for more than 20 years.
The new location was previously occupied by the Casual Pint, a craft brewery that closed in November 2019.
Information on an exact date when the restaurant will reopen was not available, but a message on its Facebook page said the fall of 2020. Spehl did provide some details about what he called a “historic renovation.”
“Built in 1919, 807 Gervais street originally served as DuPre Automotive Company in the Vista’s Automotive Row,” Spehl said in the release. “The restaurant will be reminiscent of the 1920s era and will feature the original tile floors, ceilings and windows restored back to their original look.”
While the new di Vino Rosso will have an “enhanced menu,” Spehl said it will continue to feature iconic dishes from Ristorante Divino. It will also have an extensive wine list of over 200 labels, according to the Facebook post.
This is not the first change for the restaurant, which was sold by Fulvio Valsecchi in 2014, the Free Times reported. Deevey, who also is a co-owner of another iconic Columbia restaurant — the Kingsman — was part of that purchasing group.
Ristorante Divino has been one of the best reviewed restaurants in Columbia for several years. It has a 4-out-of-5 rating on Tripadvisor and Yelp, and a 4.5 star ranking on OpenTable.
