It looks like an Italian restaurant that began nearly 40 years ago as a family-run operation in Vancouver's Little Italy has quietly closed its doors, with a new tenant already in the space.
Lombardo's, best known for its approachable Italian dishes, including wood-fired pizzas, has been a longtime tenant inside Il Mercato, in unit 120 of 1641 Commercial Dr.
There have been a few behind-the-scenes changes at Lombardo's over the past few years, but the business goes back to 1986, when it was launched by a husband and wife duo.
When Patti Lombardo and her then-husband Marcello opened Lombardo's, it was the first in Vancouver with a wood-fired oven. The city didn’t have any regulations in place at the time, so the couple built it themselves, with the help of a couple of pie pans and Patti’s uncle, who was an engineer and designed it to suit Marcello’s height and arm length, The Westender's Anya Levykh explained in 2016.
For over a decade, the pair ran the restaurant and turned it into one of the most successful on The Drive. Then, after a protracted and bitter divorce, Marcello left to open his own operation and Patti was left to raise their three daughters and run the existing business.
When did Lombardo's close? No announcement from restaurant
Ownership of Lombardo's changed in late 2019, with the business being operated by Ffaizi Pizzeria through to nearly the end of 2021, according to the City of Vancouver's business licence database.
Lombardo's most recent owner took over in 2023. According to his LinkedIn profile, Ahmad Ayoubipour heads up "Amber Business Development Advising LTD, the parent company behind several thriving Canadian brands," among which is Lampaka Foods, "operating under the well-known brand Lombardo’s Pizzeria & Ristorante."
Lampaka Foods first applied for a business licence in 2022; one was issued in early 2023.
However, the phone number for the restaurant is out of service, and Lombardo's Instagram feed has not been updated since mid-April this year. The Lombardo's website is also out of date, featuring a message about honouring old gift cards through the end of 2023.
The City of Vancouver's business licence database shows an entry in 2025 for Lombardo's as having "Gone Out of Business."
The physical storefront still has the Lombardo's sign, and while no notices regarding closure are up (the front doors are covered by a rolling metal gate), the indoor patio is being shielded by what looks like a wall made of cardboard pizza boxes.
Recently, the restaurant space has been listed for sale.
Northern Thai restaurant new tenant of old Lombardo's space
Now, the City of Vancouver's database indicates there is a licence application pending for Sud Soi restaurant at unit 120 of 1641 Commercial Dr.
Sud Soi appears to be in the process of moving in, as its social media page offers glimpses of the ex-Lombardo's interior back on Aug. 1, with its first post on June 27 indicating it was going to be located in "East Van."
The forthcoming restaurant touts it will bring "Thai flavours from deep Soi to East Van," showcasing "real-deal Issan and Lanna flavours from the North and Northeast of Thailand."
"This isn’t your typical Thai. It’s the food we crave, the way we grew up eating it," adds Sud Soi on its Instagram feed, @sudsoivancouver.
The name is derived from the Thai term for "the very end of the lane," where you're likely to find "the best bites," as in "where grandma’s recipes are sizzling, motorbikes are parked sideways, and everyone knows whose som tum hits the hardest."
Northern Thai fare, particularly from the Issan region, has been growing in popularity in Vancouver, thanks to popular newer restaurants like the Michelin Guide-endorsed Zab Bite on Fraser, and Chef Angus An's latest in the West End, Sainam.
V.I.A. has been unable to reach Lombardo's. A call to Il Mercato's property management on Monday afternoon has not been returned.
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