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Sudden closure of 25Forty Bistro and Bakehouse

Bad business relationships at one of Old Town's coolest restaurants caused unexpected and immediate shutdown.

After working 90 hours a week for four years, Mark Pelliccia feels like he has nothing to show for it. After years of toil at 25Forty Bistro and Bakehouse, he claims he was close to clearing the restaurant’s debts and operating a profitable business. And that’s despite the notoriously poor location, removed from the bustle of Old Town proper and bereft of parking. But a quarrel with his silent partner in the business--who Pelliccia claims had been absent from operations since 2010--resulted in the restaurant’s unexpected closing. The first-time restaurateur is understandably furious over the whole affair.

25Forty was a good restaurant and a strong part of any “Old Town doesn’t totally suck” argument. Seeing the doors shuttered puts a damper on optimistic attitudes about the restaurant industry. If a good spot can’t make it, where’s the hope for anyone trying to give it a go as a restaurateur?

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jun/26/48200/

But Pelliccia is undeterred. Though he feels like he received a metaphorical “kick in the crotch,” from just about everyone, he realizes that business is business. The restaurant industry isn’t an easy game to be in, and Pelliccia learned much about entrepreneurship during his time in the office and kitchen at 25Forty.

Without the money to fight a protracted court battle, Pelliccia is more or less out of options in terms of 25Forty. For now, he’s eking out a living baking pastries for the (awesome) Roast Coach and doing a little catering. Once he gets his feet back under him, he wants to start a new place, circumventing all the problems of 25Forty right from the giddy-up. Those of us who liked 25Forty wish him luck. We would love that the news were better, that Pelliccia were closing his restaurant to open something new with a better locale, but the sobering facts of this difficult industry won't be denied.

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After working 90 hours a week for four years, Mark Pelliccia feels like he has nothing to show for it. After years of toil at 25Forty Bistro and Bakehouse, he claims he was close to clearing the restaurant’s debts and operating a profitable business. And that’s despite the notoriously poor location, removed from the bustle of Old Town proper and bereft of parking. But a quarrel with his silent partner in the business--who Pelliccia claims had been absent from operations since 2010--resulted in the restaurant’s unexpected closing. The first-time restaurateur is understandably furious over the whole affair.

25Forty was a good restaurant and a strong part of any “Old Town doesn’t totally suck” argument. Seeing the doors shuttered puts a damper on optimistic attitudes about the restaurant industry. If a good spot can’t make it, where’s the hope for anyone trying to give it a go as a restaurateur?

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jun/26/48200/

But Pelliccia is undeterred. Though he feels like he received a metaphorical “kick in the crotch,” from just about everyone, he realizes that business is business. The restaurant industry isn’t an easy game to be in, and Pelliccia learned much about entrepreneurship during his time in the office and kitchen at 25Forty.

Without the money to fight a protracted court battle, Pelliccia is more or less out of options in terms of 25Forty. For now, he’s eking out a living baking pastries for the (awesome) Roast Coach and doing a little catering. Once he gets his feet back under him, he wants to start a new place, circumventing all the problems of 25Forty right from the giddy-up. Those of us who liked 25Forty wish him luck. We would love that the news were better, that Pelliccia were closing his restaurant to open something new with a better locale, but the sobering facts of this difficult industry won't be denied.

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4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
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