After just over a year, Alfresco closes in Sharon

SHARON — As the season for eating outside comes to a close, so will the doors of a Sharon restaurant whose name is dedicated to the joys of dining alfresco.

Dining Alfresco, the restaurant in the Sharon shopping plaza that opened in August 2018, closed on Sunday, Sept. 22. 

Owner and chef Adriano DiMario of New Milford said on Thursday, Sept. 19, that he was shutting down because of an ongoing dispute with the property’s landlord about the terms of his restaurant’s lease. 

DiMario opened the restaurant in 2018 after making significant renovations to the eatery that had been there before, Stacked Kitchen.

“We have no idea what is next,” DiMario, 76, said. “A lot of our regular clients are upset. They are looking for places where we can move to.”

Dining Alfresco took its name from the Italian phrase for being outdoors. Prior to closing, the restaurant seated 50 customers inside at tables with checkered cloths, with  walls painted a rich maroon that were decorated with black-and-white photographs and an abstract painting, all depicting Italian actress Sophia Loren and other mid-century Italian icons. 

Tables outside were shaded by large maple trees and a sprawling striped awning.

DiMario said he has served everyone from singer Frank Sinatra to a former Mexican president at his restaurants. He said it was difficult to hang onto dependable employees here in the Northwest Corner and that he found himself at Alfresco doing all the kitchen work himself: cooking, doing prep work, washing dishes. His daughter and others helped as wait staff.

In its year and one month in business, Dining Alfresco’s menu featured traditional favorites such as eggplant parmesan, marinara subs, pasta dishes, seafood and Roman-style pizza. 

DiMario said he had hoped to add a 36-seat bar area in the space next door, formerly occupied by a beauty parlor. That idea was put on hold a while back as conflicts began with the property owner. 

Cooking has been a through-line in DiMario’s life, from his childhood in Terracina, Italy, which was destroyed in World War II, to restaurants he had opened in upstate New York and Connecticut. 

DiMario learned his trade in the 1960s by working at high-end eateries in Las Vegas, once serving more than 200 pizzas to singer Frank Sinatra and his entourage. Through the 1990s, DiMario owned the restaurant Spagone in Ridgefield, Conn. 

Prior to opening Dining Alfresco, he owned the Vagabond Tavern in Warren County in upstate New York. 

DiMario said he had the honor of opening the first Italian restaurant in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, in 1973 and that former Mexican President Luis Echeverría Álvarez was a customer.