When the owners of Nick’s Italian Cafe in McMinnville announced their plans to close last July via social media, the outpouring of well wishes was immediate. For 46 years, the James Beard Award-winning restaurant was a beloved community institution, known for its handmade pastas, wood-fired pizzas, and cozy Backroom Bar, a speakeasy-style billiard room behind the restaurant. It was arguably the first destination restaurant in an otherwise quite casual, agricultural town, long before McMinnville was a tourist destination.
In a sweet turn for fans of the restaurant, this particular goodbye wasn’t forever. The News-Register first reported that Thomas Ghinazzi, Jordan Neale, and Scott Baldwin — the owners of Carlton restaurant Earth & Sea — have purchased the restaurant from the original owners, the Peirano family, and plan to reopen this spring.
Founder Nick Peirano opened his restaurant in 1977, serving dishes like minestrone, handmade tortelli, and a popular Dungeness crab lasagna. Peirano was an early supporter of the Willamette Valley wine industry and a fixture at McMinnville’s annual International Pinot Noir Celebration; his restaurant was the kind of place people went on dates and met for family dinners. In a town that is now stacked with pizza options from places like Pizza Capo and Honey Pie, it was one of the first in the area to put the handmade touch on pizza, topping their own dough with mozzarella stretched in-house.
Carmen Peirano, Nick’s daughter, took over operations of the restaurant in 2007 and, in 2013, opened Peirano & Daughters market and deli in the space next door. In 2014, the restaurant was honored with an America’s Classics Award from the James Beard Foundation.
Last July, the family announced they would cease operations, citing challenges in running a restaurant in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. They closed both eateries and listed them for sale, saying in a social media post on the business’ page, “our hope is for someone to ladle the minestrone soup for many years to come.”
The buyers already have a foothold in the local restaurant industry: Their four year old Carlton restaurant Earth & Sea is known for its wine program, no surprise as co-owner Scott Baldwin — along with Rae Ellen Baldwin — founded Dundee Hills winery De Ponte Cellars in 2001. Earth & Sea’s robust bottle list is stacked with strong options from Oregon AVAs, as well as bigger wines from California and abroad; plus, they offer a selection of library pinots, older bottles from Willamette Valley wineries. Chef Ghinazzi’s menu follows a steakhouse format, which also prominently features Pacific seafood and handmade pastas. He will put his own spin on the menu at Nick’s.
“We want to honor the legacy Nick and Carmen have built,” Ghinazzi says. “We plan on making some small changes and updates to the front dining room while still keeping the charm and culture [of the original].” Ghinazzi confirmed that the team will keep the restaurant name Nick’s Italian Cafe.
The menu will reflect some of the longtime favorite dishes from the original Nick’s menu, as well as new dishes from Ghinazzi he has yet to reveal.
“Carmen has graciously offered to teach me and guide me through the recipes handed down through their family history,” Ghinazzi says. “I have accepted and can’t wait to learn firsthand from her. Some menu staples will stay on the menu others won’t. We haven’t made a final determination on exact dishes.” Fingers crossed the crab lasagna makes the cut.
The former Peirano & Daughters space is not part of the Nick’s project; the building will become a second tasting room for Carlton-based Celestial Hill Vineyard.
The restaurant will reopen at 521 NE Third Street in early May at the soonest.
Disclosure: Some Vox Media staff members are part of the voting body for the James Beard Awards. Eater partnered with the James Beard Foundation to livestream the awards in 2023. All editorial content is produced independently of the James Beard Foundation.
Dining and Cooking