Ottavio's in Provo closing its doors this weekend

(Daily Herald) One of Provo's beloved restaurants, Ottavio's Ristorante Italiano at 71 E. Center St., is closing its doors on Saturday after nearly 11 years of business.

That's because Sicilian owners Vic Balsano and his cousins Lenny and Ottavio Belvedere are planning to launch full-time into their prepackaged food-making business, Primavera Foods, which has been distributing the restaurant's signature creamy tomato basil soup at Costco in Utah for the past year, and more recently, Vic's personal favorite pasta sauce, dubbed the Toscana, which is made of tomato, basil, cream and Romano cheese.

"I'm very saddened by the decision to close. But I've been in the restaurant business for 50 years, and it's time for me to move on and try other things," said Balsano, who also turns 69 on the day he closes his family-owned business on Saturday.

Opened in 1998, the Zagat-rated restaurant, which was named after Balsano's grandfather, Ottavio, is known for its elegant family charm with its marbled tabletops and counters, high ceilings, a curved granite bar and numerous Italian murals, including one of Balsano and his family, and of Michelangelo's David, complete with a leaf painted over his genitalia.

The 7,000-square-foot restaurant is replete with memorabilia of the owners' Italian heritage, from photos of beloved movie stars like Al Pacino, Marlon Brando and Sophia Loren to numerous family photos, including that of Balsano's uncle, Gian Belvedere, who was the first of his family from Palermo, Sicily, to arrive in the United States in 1950 and launch their first family restaurant in San Diego, Calif.

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