WEST STOCKBRIDGE — It took close to two years, but longtime local restaurateur Maggie Merelle has finally found what she says are ideal buyers for her popular downtown restaurant Rouge.
The buyers of the eatery and wine shop that Merelle put on the market in April 2022, are a culinary team based in Florence, Italy. Liza Stace Pagliari, an artist, and her husband Valentino, a veteran restaurateur, will be bringing a replica of their Acqua al 2 Tuscan cuisine to West Stockbridge this summer.
Liza Stace Pagliari and Valentino Pagliari purchased the business and building at 3-5 Center St. in West Stockbridge for $870,000.
LIZA STACE PAGLIARI
“This is our first restaurant in the United States,” the couple said in a joint email interview from Florence. “We were drawn to the Berkshires initially because we love the culture and atmosphere of the area. West Stockbridge is specifically appealing not just for its intimate community, but for its location.”
Merelle, a real estate salesperson at William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty in Great Barrington and Lenox, handled the transaction herself.
The sale of the business and the building at 3-5 Center St. totaled $870,000, including $220,000 for the appraised value of the furniture, fixtures and equipment, Merelle said.
“I represented the buyers as a Sotheby’s agent,” she told The Eagle. “They are lovely people. I believe that they will bring spectacular traditions of their own to the Berkshires.”
The Pagliaris aim to open early this summer, starting with dinner service Wednesday through Sunday from 5 to 11 p.m., with a seating capacity of about 80.
The West Stockbridge Select Board approved an all-alcohol liquor license for the establishment, Acquevo LLC, last month. No substantial renovations are planned, said attorney William E. Martin, representing the buyers. The interior restaurant layout will remain the same as the former Rouge, he said.
Liza Stace Pagliari, participating in the meeting by phone, described the West Stockbridge venture as a year-round, family style restaurant. She and her husband will manage the restaurant themselves at the site.
The Pagliaris are planning to replicate their Acqua al 2 Tuscan cuisine restaurant in Florence, Italy in the former Rouge space.
LIZA STACE PAGLIARI
The cuisine will be comparable to the offerings in the Florence restaurant, where a chef’s sampler tasting menu is a highlight. The “Assagi” option includes tastes of courses from salads to cheeses, pastas, meats and desserts.
Valentino Pagliari is a London native and the son of Italian restaurateurs. He moved to Florence in the early 1990s, intending to study architecture but, as he explained, “I was immediately attracted to the vibrant Florentine nightlife scene.”
For 22 years, he operated a late-night cocktail bar, The Blob Club, mainly catering to international students. He became a patron of the Acqua al 2 restaurant, “a combination of great food and ambiance.”
After consulting with the management on a new concept in Florence — a breakfast and brunch eatery that evolved into “The Diner” — he became manager of the establishment before buying into Acqua al 2, which had been founded in 1978, as a partner.
Liza Stace Pagliari grew up outside New York City, spending vacations and most weekends at her family home in Great Barrington.
After earning a bachelor’s degree in fine arts at Syracuse University in printmaking and a master’s at the the Rhode Island School of Design for printmaking and art education, she is currently residing and working in Florence as a practicing artist and printmaker working with high school and university level students.
Noting the importance of the artistic community in the Berkshires, she anticipates “creating opportunities for those who practice art and those who appreciate it at the restaurant.”
Dining and Cooking