Editor’s note: This story corrects the original version to note that the city approved a loan for the business owner, but funds were never disbursed.
WAUSAU — A Wausau restaurant is now closed, just one year after opening its doors on the city’s west side.
A sign in the window of Rosati’s Pizza, 210 S. First Ave., says the business is closed for kitchen renovation. But former staffers tell Wausau Pilot and Review that the business is closed for good. The restaurant has been cleared of all tables, chairs, and equipment.
Wausau no longer appears as a location on the Rosati’s franchise website.
The restaurant, once the site of a Pizza Hut, underwent a massive renovation starting in February 2016, and opened in early October 2016. Members of the city’s economic development committee last year approved a $34,000 commercial rehabilitation loan for owner Dave Naskrent, according to city documents, but those funds were never disbursed. The loan would have been collateralized against the property based on the real improvements, said Economic Development Director Chris Schock.
“Small business turnover is common, but the improvements are reviewed for their value to the property no matter what business may be there,” Schock told Wausau Pilot and Review.
Naskrent was expected to invest about $500,000 in the building.
The franchise owners were denied a regular liquor license in October 2016, losing out to Crostini’s, which has also shuttered, but served beer and wine in addition to an array of Chicago-style pizzas and other entrees.
Calls to the business result in a recorded message that simply states, “the number you have dialed is not answering. Please try your call again later.”
