Manhasset’s Stresa Italian restaurant sold to Arturo’s owner

Amelia Camurati
Stresa Italian Restaurant in Manhasset has been sold to the owner of Arturo's in Floral Park. (Photo courtesy of Taylor Levy, taysteebites.com)

A favorite Manhasset Italian eatery will change hands early next year but is expected to change little otherwise.

Stresa Italian Restaurant owner Giorgio Meriggi, who opened the restaurant in 1992, has sold the business to Antonio D’Anna, the owner of Arturo’s Italian Restaurant in Floral Park.

D’Anna said Arturo’s is set to close in January, and he is expected to officially take charge of Stresa the same month.

Meriggi said after 25 years with Stresa, it is time to retire.

“I’m 73, so it’s time to spend a little time with my family,” Meriggi said. “I come in early every morning, I leave late every night, seven days a week. It’s becoming a little too much.”

Stresa owner Giorgio Meriggi has been responsible for making the desserts every morning for 25 years. (Photo courtesy of Stresa)

Meriggi has been responsible for making the desserts every morning before the restaurant opens for daily lunch and dinner service, but Meriggi said D’Anna will be trained in the ways of Stresa’s famous chocolate soufflé and other sweet Italian treats.

Meriggi said a number of families have been coming for generations.

“When we opened here, we had families with kids who were very young, and now they are married and come in with their children,” Meriggi said. “It’s a family thing.”

D’Anna said he has many customers from the Manhasset area at Arturo’s but they came infrequently because of the drive. D’Anna has been looking for years to make the move into Manhasset, he said.

The menus of Stresa and Arturo’s are similar, D’Anna said, and some specials will be offered from the old Arturo’s menu after D’Anna takes over.

But D’Anna said he plans to make no other changes to Stresa, from the dishes and recipes to the name and decor.

“I’m going to miss the restaurant. I’m very happy to have time to spend with my family, but this was my life,” Meriggi said. “The restaurant was very, very good for us.”

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