Pomodoro Cucina Italiana In Woodland Hills Closing December 13th

As I approached the door to Pomodoro today, I came upon a disturbing sight.  Posted right at the entrance is a notice of ownership change, relating to their beer and wine license.

I had hoped that perhaps Pomodoro is a franchise based company, so the change in ownership would only be to a new franchisee.  Sadly, this is not the case.  Written on the chalk board above the bar/waiting area was “WE WISH TO THANK YOU ALL FOR MANY YEARS OF LOYALTY.  LAST DAY OF BUSINESS – SUN 12.13.09.”

Brutal.  I have been coming to Pomodoro for many years.  It is a good, convenient, and affordable Italian eatery here in Woodland Hills where I have had lunch many, many times.  I will be very sad to see it go.

I got to speak to the General Manager, Jimmy Stevens (on Facebook), while I was there having lunch.  He explained to me that the corporate office has been under pressure from investors to cut loose under performing stores.  Stevens noted that the company had expanded rapidly since its inception in 1994, and had made several poor choices for locations along the way.

Yielding to investor pressure, Pomodoro has begun a process of getting rid of these locations.  Interestingly, the Woodland Hills location was not a money loser for Pomodoro, but was added as a deal sweetener so the company could unload two other poorly performing locations in Orange County.

These three stores were sold to Irvine based Panini Cafe – a rapidly expanding “Italian & Mediteranian” restaurant chain of which I was previously unaware – who also purchased Pomodoro’s Sherman Oaks location (which closed last month) in a separate deal.  Jimmy said in his estimation the Panini Cafe will open in the Pomodoro Woodland Hills’ former location in early 2010, perhaps even January.

I will be sad to see Pomodoro go, although they do still have other locations in Los Angeles, should I feel nostalgic.  Many people have remarked to me the noticably few places offering a nice breakfast in Woodland Hills, and at the very least from what I can see on their website, Panini Cafe has a sizable breakfast menu.  The rest of the cuisine seems Corner Bakery-esque will heavy Mediterranean influence.  Jimmy referred to it as a “kabob place,” but hopefully for our sake it will prove to be more than just that.

We will miss you Pomodoro.  Good luck to future employees on their pursuit of new employment.  Any restaurant owners reading this blog should feel free to drop in on Pomodoro’s to poach their staff.

Oh, I almost forgot.  The Penne Salsiccia lunch special that I had for $8.95 (which included Minestrone soup) was delicious, but I was too sad to enjoy it.

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• Supplemental Link: Panini Cafe Website