Mario’s Restaurant in East Setauket Closes Without Warning
After some weeks of speculation at the end of last year, it seems that Mario’s Restaurant in East Setauket might have finally closed for good. At the end of December, the general manager of Mario’s tried to put an end to speculation telling Long Island Restaurants that the staple East Setauket eatery was not closing, despite rumors.
“We are still open everyday at 3pm and close 10pm except Friday and Saturday we close at 11pm,” Mario’s general manager said at the time.
She speculated that because Mario’s didn’t have lunch anymore, people might think they were closed.
“We had a small fire outside in the broiler room at the end of February and we were closed for three weeks so that’s another reason maybe there is a rumor about us being closed,” she said. “But we are fully opened and taking reservations and take-out orders.”
(Another fire actually erupted next door to Mario’s in June 2023 as well.)
That was right before New Year’s Eve.
At some point after that, Mario’s did close its door and never reopened, some reporting the restaurant has been shuttered since the beginning of January. Although the website is up and running, the phone goes unanswered as well as emails.
On Yelp, one customer complained that they had a $100 gift card purchased right before New Year’s that they could not use and they had no luck contacting anyone at the restaurant.
There is speculation about what is happening to the old place, including a possible takeover or a renovation but there is no official word from the owners. The Facebook page of the restaurant hasn’t been updated in years and the last post on their Instagram page was from December 30, 2023. For now, Mario’s remains dark with no hint of what’s next.
We will update this story when more information becomes available.
