SPRUCE PINE – A new restaurant is coming to downtown Spruce Pine at 159 Locust St., the current location of The Grove Church.
Residents Mark Riley, formerly the executive chef at Harvest Market in Bakersville, and Jeanne Sabo plan to open Gustoso Ristorante, a “continental, multinational European restaurant” in early August.
“I’m from New York, and Mark spent half of his life in Massachusetts and New York, so we have a deep love of Italian food,” Sabo said. “The restaurant is coming from our past cooking experience and our love of food and there are some recipes from my ancestry.”
Sabo noted the word “Gustoso” means “tasty” in Italian, but the restaurant will not serve only Italian food, but a variety of European cuisines, including French and German.
“We are very excited,” Sabo said. “This is like a culmination of a love of food and our past business experiences, so we’re kind of blowing it all up into a passion project.”
Sabo said she would serve as the restaurant’s general manager, and Riley is the owner and executive chef.
The pair plans to open Gustoso Ristorante Aug. 1, but that date is tentative, Sabo said. Updates about the new restaurant will be posted to its Facebook page.