Penne Rustic Italian Bistro 18 Park Ave. in Clifton Park recently changed ownership. It was purchased by Nicholas Porreca, a longtime chef at the establishment.©2016 Saratoga Photographer.com
By Jill Nagy
Nicholas Porreca, the chef when the Pasta Penne Rustic Italian Bistro in Clifton Park opened 15 years ago, now owns the restaurant.
He said he plans no major changes.
Porreca has been a “passionate chef for 20 years. It’s something that I love to do.”
For most of that time, he has been cooking at the Clifton Park bistro he now owns at 18 Park Ave.
He and his wife, Nicole, took a three-year hiatus in Hawaii, where he was a chef at the Four Seasons Hotel in Maui. While in Maui, the Porrecas had twins, Sonny and Liea, now two years old. They returned to Clifton Park because, he said, it is their “home base” and family and support systems became more important with two small children to raise.
Although Nicole has had 30 years of experience in the restaurant business, Porreca said, she is “mostly focused on the kids” right now, but does help out at the restaurant from time to time.
He described Pasta Penne as an Italian bistro. They pride themselves on using fresh ingredients. They bake their own bread and make most of their own pasta.
Many of the dishes are baked in a wood stone pizza oven. They serve a lot of regular customers, he said, including a lot of families and local business people.
The restaurant seats 130 people with an additional 50 seats on the patio, weather permitting. They offer take-out orders and catering. There are 35 employees at the restaurant.
Pasta Penne is open seven days a week. From Monday to Saturday, they are open 4:30-9:30 p.m. On Sunday, the restaurant serves brunch from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The telephone number is 371-5762.