SCITUATE, MASS. (WHDH) - A popular Italian eatery on the South Shore recently announced that it will be closing after more than 20 years in business due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“This past year surely hasn’t gone the way we all thought it would. The pandemic has impacted many different industries and the restaurant business was not spared,” Riva Restaurant wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday. “With having to close our doors for service this spring, less people traveling and dining out, heritage days getting canceled, the building being sold, and the guidelines set forth by the Commonwealth with spacing between tables and no bar service…Riva simply cannot survive another winter.”

Owners of the Scituate-based restaurant thanked everyone who spent summer nights on their patio, ate by the fire in the dining room, danced to music on heritage days, and packed the cozy bar on winter nights over the last two decades.

“The pandemic has surely brought on change for a lot of people and hard challenges for small businesses and we are devastated to be one of these businesses,” the post added.

The restaurant’s last day of business is slated for Sept. 19.

Those who are unable to make it to Riva can redeem gift cards at Salt Society and Rivershed through Dec. 31.

 

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