A Naples restaurant has announced it will close.
Lamoraga Restaurant on April 2 said on Facebook that its last day is Saturday, April 5.
“After 11 years of serving the community of Naples, locals, snowbirds and tourists alike, we would like to thank everyone for their support,” Lamoraga said in a statement.
“We always felt that Lamoraga offered something unique and different in this vast culinary market and are very proud of our product and service. This of course could not have been accomplished without the care and hard work of our loyal staff, from the top down.
“Thank you again and we only wish everyone the best for the future!”
When Lamoraga opened
Former NFL player and Lamoraga owner Tom Nutten opened the restaurant along U.S. 41 in Naples in April 2014. Nutten began in the restaurant business after an NFL career playing guard for the St. Louis Rams. Raised in Germany, Nutten learned to play football at a boarding school outside Montreal.
Nutten ― who played in Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002 ― retired from football at age 35 and set out to discover what he wanted to do with the rest of his life.
‘Shiny new gem of Naples dining scene’
A News-Press dining reviewer who in 2014 visited Lamoraga raved about a “peach-fleshed fish and the garnishes carefully sprinkled over it.”
“The first bite was revelatory: soft hamachi, bright yuzu, coarse black salt that crackled under my teeth. It tasted like summer. And a few bites later it was gone,” the reviewer wrote.
“So go dishes at Lamoraga, a contemporary tapas restaurant that has become the shiny new gem of the Naples dining scene.”
Some don’t want Lamoraga to close
“I’m so sad that I won’t be in the area for one more meal,” wrote Lyndsay Isbreáléi Ancinedaonna on Facebook.
“The team at La Moraga always created a welcoming, elegant dining environment. I appreciate how you always strove (to) create delicious dishes inclusive to many kinds of diners.”
Lamoraga will be open 4-9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, its final day at 3936 Tamiami Trail N.
Dave Osborn is the regional features editor of the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. Contact him at dosborn@gannett.com and follow him on Instagram @lacrossewriter.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: ‘Something unique’: Naples restaurant announces closing after 11 years
Reporting by Dave Osborn, Naples Daily News / Naples Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
