San Mateo’s Italian restaurant Vespucci to close

“Most of the Italian restaurants offer fusion cuisine, more contemporary and more Americanized,” Fumasi said. “We decided since day one that we wanted to do the same food that we were used to in Italy without changing it. … We wanted to re-create exactly those flavors, to offer something authentic.”

Fumasi said the couple didn’t know anyone when they first moved to San Mateo but since opening over a decade ago, they’ve built a strong community and have been able to celebrate milestones with customers-turned-friends.

“We were there for every milestone — for engagements, then for the wedding rehearsal dinner and then when they had babies,” she said. “We really saw people growing their own families in those 10 years. We were able to create real authentic connections with many of them.”

But between higher operating costs and wanting to spend fewer days working around the clock, Fumasi said they made the difficult decision to close.

“We need time for ourselves because we didn’t do anything else but work for 11 years,” she said.

Fumasi, who is also an artist, has beautified the Vespucci tables with her own artwork and said some will be for sale once the restaurant closes, so customers can keep “a piece of Vespucci.”

The restaurant, located downtown on East Third Avenue, will operate its last day on Dec. 31.