Mt. Lebanon’s Il Pizzaiolo halts most dine-in service, will soon take reservations only

Mt. Lebanon’s Il Pizzaiolo has temporarily halted dine-in service.

Curbside and delivery options will be available for the remainder of the week, according to the restaurant’s website.

Beginning next week, patrons may dine in-house by limited reservation only, seating customers outside and at the wine bar exclusively.

“This way we can control every aspect of the experience for the safety of our staff and our customers,” said owner Ronald Molinaro. “We will now have limited availability and choose who we want to do business with.”

It’s been a tumultuous month for the 24-year-old, Neapolitan-style Italian restaurant.

An unannounced food safety inspection on June 22 resulted in 11 violations, including unsafe food temperatures and a green film on the edge of the ice machine. Just one day later, an email exchange between Molinaro and a customer went viral. The patron complained about staff not wearing masks and improper spacing between tables, standards that were set by Gov. Tom Wolf as a part of indoor restaurant dining in the green phase.

Molinaro doesn’t deny the violations, but doesn’t think they’re uncommon either.

“What they found that day, they would in every restaurant in America,” Molinaro said. “Only difference there was it was weaponized against me.”

The restaurant’s re-inspection will take place Thursday.

The restaurant is also subject to Allegheny County’s ban on dine-in alcohol sales, which went into effect Tuesday evening at 5 p.m.

“When they announced they were not allowing for the consumption of alcohol on premise, it wiped out all of the progress we as restaurant owners have made since March,” said Molinaro. “It immediately reset everything back to March 16th levels. I knew we would be in a downturn, and it was time to scale back operations and cut hours while we waited to see what happens next.”

The length of Il Pizzaiolo’s break in normal operations remains uncertain, as it does for many restaurants.

“We will operate like this until the world returns to normal, and we do not need to deal with the current level of anxiety, fear and anger that exists at this moment,” he said.