Daniela Peira Bouneou, co-owner with her husband Maxime of the Don Gaspar Ave. eatery
, announced this week that she and Max have sold the assets of the restaurant, as well as the right to lease their coveted spot in the Santa Fe Village mall on Dan Gaspar Ave. Apparently to sell the spot has been their plan since the beginning (they opened the business in 2006), but no one knew but them.
The sale was completely finalized the morning of Tuesday, Feb. 16.
Torino's has many a time graced the pages of SFR: as one of our
in our 2009-2010 restaurant guide, in
an article about the restaurant's expansion
last summer, in a piece about
, and an article praising Daniela as the
. The couple even showed their weird side for our
in 2009. All in all, the atmosphere was inviting, the service was impeccable and the food was out-of-this-world.
So if it ain't broke, why fix it? By way of explanation, Daniela simply says: "It was a good-running business and we put on the market and somebody wanted it." Fair enough!
The Bouneous tell SFR that they have not sold the name of the restaurant, Torino's@Home, and that they plan to re-open the restaurant by summer. They will most likely be moving to Albuqerque (Maxime says the chances of moving to Albuquerque are "90 percent"). The pair is currently looking for a location that is big, cheap, has parking and has patio seating (in other words, everything their Don Gaspar location was not). Whatever happens, they plan on having virtually the same restaurant—the same great service and fresh food. Maxime's family is based in Albuqerque, so in addition to being a business decision, the move is also a personal one.
So, when all is said and done: as of Saturday, Feb. 13, Torino's@Home is no longer run and owned by Daniela and Maxime.
Maxime tells SFR they hope to have a new restaurant open by summer; perhaps in May.
For the time being, the restaurant is closed, and SFR will soon have an updated interview with the new owner of the spot. Maxime tells SFR the restaurant will be completely different, so anyone in search of pasta made fresh each morning or slow-cooked beef in a salty brown stew should look elsewhere.
