First-of-its-kind Italian restaurant in Toronto has closed after just 6 months

The Italian restaurant Piadina by Monti has closed permanently after less than six months on Queen West. 

Toronto's first piadineria, specializing exclusively in stuffed Italian flatbread, opened last August at the corner of Queen and Markham with a menu of the piadine and platters of burrata.

Owners closed it permanently on January 27.

Piadina by Monti opened on Markham Street in August 2020. 

Ernesto Gaita, who opened the restaurant with his sister Annamaria and Simone Caldana, told blogTO that Ontario's flip-flopping health measures and lack of concrete reopening timelines made it impossible for the business to continue. 

"Very upsetting as this was a passion project for us that was actually doing well considering we were in a pandemic," said Gaito. 

At the time of its opening, Toronto had just moved into Stage 3 of reopening, where dine-in service was allowed. 

Within a few weeks, restaurants were forced to close again, with a citywide push for businesses to step up their patio and outdoor dining areas. 

The restaurant's heated patio opened for a few months before temperatures dropped.

Piadina was one of the restaurants with space to set up a heated patio, but having opened in 2020, it was ineligible for government relief. 

"Being a new business, we have been overlooked by our government with regards to assistance and support," said the Piadina team in their closure announcement on Instagram. 

"Our hearts go out to the entire hospitality industry, especially for newer businesses that are experiencing similar challenges and frustration." 

The team says they hope to bring back the piadine concept in the future when the time is right.