Firenze Osteria, Fabio Viviani's North Hollywood restaurant, will close tomorrow, July 31. The restaurant will reopen some time in the future with Viviani as chef, but with new ownership. 

Viviani opened Firenze in late 2009, right after his initial ascent to fame on Bravo's fifth season of Top Chef. At the time of its opening, the restaurant was a hit, though Los Angeles Times critic Irene Virbila gave it a poor review, saying “what I didn't expect was a menu so conventional it reads like a tourist trap — mostly generic dishes from no particular region. Italian Food for Dummies.” LA Weekly couldn't improve upon that opinion, and never wrote about the restaurant. ]

When the restaurant reopens, it will also serve as a live music venue. The press release about the closing reads: “The restaurant will re-open in late-fall 2014 with an entirely new menu by Chef Fabio whose focus, while still Italian, will be more contemporary, locally sourced and seasonally focused. In addition to a complete renovation, the restaurant will feature an intimate live-music venue that showcases established as well as emerging artists.”

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