After opening their for-charity bakery Matteo just last month, the crew behind San Diego's hit Italian restaurant group Buona Forchetta will unveil its Coronado eatery by next week in the 5,000 square-foot space that formerly housed the historic El Cordova Garage.
Italian native Matteo Cattaneo opened his award-winning Buona Forchetta in San Diego's South Park neighborhood in 2013 and has been packing the house ever since. In March 2017, the company opened an offshoot dubbed Officine Buona Forchetta in Liberty Station, which coincided with the announcement of an incoming, 1,100 square foot Encinitas branch that debuted in October 2018. Buona Forchetta also launched a branch inside Petco Park for the 2018-2019 seasons, which they plan on maintaining this year. An Italian bodega and bistro that sits two doors down from the company's flagship South Park restaurant, Enoteca Buona Forchetta also unveiled in late 2018. Buona Forchetta ownership also opened non-profit breakfast-centric restaurant & bakery Matteo at 3015 Juniper Street in South Park earlier this year and is in the process of opening Gelati & Peccati - a new fast-casual concept centered around Roman-style pizza and gelato set to open this spring in North Park. The team is also working on a Texas-style barbecue restaurant called Carbón anticipated to debut this summer at 2314 30th Street in South Park.
Soft opening as early as this weekend with plans to be full operational by next week is the newest restaurant from the burgeoning San Diego restaurant group. Dubbed Garage Buona Forchetta, the nearly 3 year-old project was designed and built out by Coronado-based Nicolls Design Build with a style honoring the 1940s garage-feel of the building. The all-day menu will feature authentic Neapolitan and Roman-style pizzas from a custom Stefano Ferrara Italian pizza oven, as well as appetizers, calzones, fresh pastas, salads, entrees and desserts. Garage Buona Forchetta will also offer a breakfast menu with pastries from Matteo and house a children's play area, an outdoor patio and a retail store selling Italian goods, fresh pasta and bakery items. Buona Forchetta husband-and-wife founders Matteo and Alexa Cattaneo live in Coronado with their two daughters, so a Coronado location was always part of the plan.
"Living in and eventually opening a restaurant in Coronado has always been my dream, and I’m excited to have found the right space," explained Matteo. "My whole family lives on the island, and
it’s my hope to make Garage Buona Forchetta the heart of our community, all while supporting our local schools and charities."
