Carlo Pellegrini back 'home' with takeout and catering after disastrous fire in 2019

Sep. 1--For Carlo Pellegrini, it's good to be home -- even if that "home" still doesn't look quite like it did a mere 18 months ago.

On March 30, 2019, an electrical fire destroyed much of the building at Pellegrini Ristorante Italiano Bar, at 2400 17th St., in Greeley.

Pellegrini and company have been hard a work, reconstructing the building, repairing fire damage and making the building safe for when customers are ultimately allowed back in the dining room.

In the meantime, Pellegrini had been using the kitchen at Greeley/Evans Moose Lodge, 3456 11th Ave., in Evans, to prepare catered meals.

As grateful as Pellegrini was to have the Moose Lodge lend out its kitchen, he longed for his own kitchen -- the one where he had attracted plenty of regular customers in the heart of Greeley, just off of 23rd Avenue.

Just more than a month ago, Pellegrini returned to his kitchen, launching Pellegrini Cucina Italiana, offering the restaurant's signature Italian dishes via curbside pickup, catering and delivery through the NoCoNosh.com delivery service.

"To come back home is always fantastic," said Pellegrini, the owner, manager and chef at the catering/takeout kitchen. "We had great people (with the Moose Lodge). They helped out a lot. But, to come back here into our own space, there is more serenity. It's more peaceful."

Before returning to his own kitchen, Pellegrini had ceased preparing meals out of the Moose Lodge in March because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pandemic is also largely to blame for Pellegrini having to delay plans of reopening the dining room at his restaurant. COVID-19 has created a cloudy environment for all restaurant owners because of the havoc the virus was wreaked on the economy, the more isolated practices consumers have adopted and the bevy of restrictions the pandemic has necessitated.

Initially, Pellegrini had hoped to reopen the dining room sometime this year. But, now he's hoping to reopen it next year, if the environment surrounding the pandemic is one that makes its sensible for Pellegrini to again operate his restaurant at a fully-functioning level.

However, future prospects aside, just getting to where Pellegrini Cucina Italiana sits today is perhaps an accomplishment in itself.

"It was a big process," Pellegrini said. "Step by step, we just had to figure out how to approach this job. From the insurance side and from a construction standpoint, we just had to figure out how to do this. It was really complicated."

And, there's still more work to be done, as Pellegrini strives to ultimately -- hopefully sometime in the not-too-distant future -- be operating at 100% capacity again, rising out of the proverbial, and literal, ashes.

"Before, there was a lot of unknown," Pellegrini said. "Now, it's a more clear job. We know exactly what we need to do."

Bobby Fernandez covers Growth and Development for the Greeley Tribune. Reach him at (970) 392-4478, by email at bfernandez@greeleytribune.com or on Twitter @BobbyDFernandez.

Back in the kitchen

-- After an electrical fire burned down Pellegrini Ristorante Italiano Bar in Greeley on March 30, 2019, owner/manager/chef Carlo Pellegrini is back in his kitchen for the first time in a year and a half.

-- Pellegrini launched Pellegrini Cucina Italiana just more than a month ago in his own kitchen at 2400 17th St. The kitchen offers curbside pickup, catering and delivery through NoCoNosh.com.

-- The kitchen is operating with hours of 4-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday.

-- To order one or more of Pellegrini's signature Italian dishes, go to pellegrinicucina.com or call (970) 515-5332.

___

(c)2020 the Greeley Tribune (Greeley, Colo.)

Visit the Greeley Tribune (Greeley, Colo.) at www.greeleytribune.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.