Casale Restaurant Taken Over by Former Owner

The former Casale Restaurant, which shuttered its doors in late May after only having been open for about one year, has been taken over by its former owner, Alberto Guadagnini.

The restaurant property has gone through an identity crisis for several years and has seen several different names and menus.

In 1994, according to the former restaurant website, the Friedel family sold the Newtown Squire, a landmark restaurant for almost 35 years to Guadagnini who changed it into a classic Italian restaurant: Alberto’s Newtown Squire.

Marco Tarantino and Alfredo Giannaccari, then purchased the property and restaurant from their senior partner and the restaurant saw several name changes including Alberto's Italian Steakhouse, The Newtown Grill in 2007 and then Casale in September 2012.

Newtown Township Manager Michael Trio said Monday that the township has met with Guadagnini and he has a proposal to renovate the property, remove the historic barn and clean up the property as a whole.

"He has committed to taking the barn down. We're waiting to get permits on that," Trio said at the June 24 township meeting.

Feral cats inhabiting the old historic barn that sits on the property have been an issue for some time.

Previously, residents of Terrazza also shared concerns of the dilapidated building housing feral cats and its safety for the residents and children in the area.

Tarantino previously told Patch that demolishing or restoring the barn would be costly.