“This is more than a restaurant — it is our love letter to family, to resilience, and to the legacy of the man who started it all.”
Our Story
Named for Nonno.
Kept alive by family.
Nōnnō Umberto — “Grandpa Umberto” — is named in honor of the man at the heart of the family. He opened the original restaurant in 1998, and for years it was a beloved Sarasota landmark where local families, celebrities and visitors gathered for holidays, traditions and long Italian meals. Umberto was known for his handmade pastas, and his was one of the first restaurants to import buffalo mozzarella.
In 2024, a devastating hurricane destroyed everything. At 86, Nonno Umberto and his wife Graziella decided it was time to retire — but the family refused to let his legacy fade.
While the building sat in limbo, they kept cooking, kept working and kept dreaming. For a year they ran an Italian food truck, bringing the spirit of the restaurant to communities across Florida.
Now Nōnnō Umberto has returned to St. Armands Circle — modernized and elevated, still holding the soul of the original: high-quality meats and seafood, brick oven pizza, desserts, a full bar and wine list, and crafted cocktails.
- 1998 Original restaurant opens in Sarasota
- 2024 Hurricane destroys the restaurant
- A year On the road with the family food truck
- Today Back on St. Armands Circle