A Second Course for Serafina

Serafina Ristorante is back for seconds.

The Sudbury Road restaurant reopened last week, more than two months after quietly closing its doors due to financial woes. And owner Sam Cannarozzi said Serafina has returned with new menu in keeping with the eclectic Italian-American cuisine customers grew to love over the past 12 years.

“It’s a brand new menu with a lot of old favorites,” said Cannarozzi. “The menu is pretty eclectic in that there is something for everyone, depending on what you want to spend and what kind of dining experience you’re looking for.”

From seafood risotto to onion rings to a raw bar, the menu covers upscale, Italian, casual and everything in between. But menu items aren’t the only “old favorites” returning to Serafina.

According to Cannarozzi, after he and his wife Erica closed Serafina and their other restaurant, Sierra’s in Sudbury, they frequently heard from customers sharing kind words and encouraging the restaurateurs to reconsider.

“We were getting calls, texts and emails from all over Concord; there was a tremendous amount of support for us to reopen,” Cannarozzi said. “I can see it coming back, and we’re very thankful for that.”

The decision to close wasn’t an easy one, but Cannarozzi said they were still struggling to recover after suffering through the recession and loss of business in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

The decision to re-open wasn’t an easy one either, but after some number-crunching and soul searching, Sam and Erica decided to give it another go. Serafina reopened on Wednesday, June 19, and Sierras is expected to reopen within the next two weeks.

Cannarozzi credited Concord’s town officials, who he said held his licenses without revoking it, which aided in the reopening process. But mostly he credited Erica, a chef who manages Serafina’s kitchen.

“Without Erica’s drive and determination, we would not have been able to reopen. Her signature is all over the restaurant,” Cannarozzi said.

“We’ll be a little stronger, a little more focused and extremely determined that our customers leave happy.”

Serafina’s new dinner menu is posted above as a PDF. It, along with the lunch and brunch menus should be posted to the restaurant’s website by sometime today, June 27.