2 days ago
Beloved Italian Restaurant Suddenly Closes After 45 Years
It always hurts when a popular local restaurant shuts its doors for good, but it's really a tear-jerker when that spot has been in the community for decades. After a while, if a restaurant has been around for long enough, it starts to feel like home. The workers start to become friends, and everyone becomes a "regular."
Now, a longstanding Italian restaurant is closing its doors after 45 years in operation, and while it's a sad thing, it's also to beautiful to think about the legacy that this place left behind.
Italian restaurants are popular in the U.S. According to IBISWorld, there were 59,754 Italian restaurants in the U.S. in 2023, which is a 3.8 percent increase from 2022. They also note that number of Italian restaurants in the U.S. has been increasing, averaging a 3.8 percent annual growth between 2018 and 2023.
But, today, there's one fewer. Moro's Dining, a classic Italian restaurant in Detroit, was a local favorite for 45 years. The spot was famous for its fine Italian food, white tablecloths and waiters dressed to the nines.
But, the restaurant has closed. On June 8, those calling the restaurant were greeted with the message, "Hello, you have reached Moro's Dining. We are closed but would like to thank you for all your prayers and well wishes. Chef Thomas Moro is doing fine. Thank you for listening. Goodbye." Yelp has also listed the eatery as permanently closed.
While this change happened quickly, it's a few years in the making. Back in 2022, the Detroit Free Press reported that the spot was for sale, with owner Thomas Moro telling the outlet, "I am over 70 years old. It's about time to throw the towel in."
According to the restaurant's history included on their website, Moro was the owner and primary chef at the restaurant and began his culinary career at Mario's in Detroit's Midtown in the late-1960s. While Moro's Dining is gone, it's not Italian Restaurant Suddenly Closes After 45 Years first appeared on Men's Journal on Jun 10, 2025
