Nittolo’s Won’t Reopen In Lake Leelanau

A Leelanau fixture has officially departed the county.

Eric Nittolo, owner of Nittolo’s Seafood & Pizza in Lake Leelanau – as well as the new Nittolo’s Little Italy in Traverse City – confirmed to The Ticker Thursday that the restaurant in Lake Leelanau won’t be coming back. The business has been closed since late October, despite historically staying open through the wintertime. Nittolo declined to comment on the seasonal closure when the Leelanau Ticker reached out in the fall.

On Thursday, screencaps of a press release (pictured right) began circulating on social media, indicating that the Nittolo’s building was hitting the market. “Iconic Lake Leelanau Restaurant Available For Sale Or Lease,” the press release states, noting that the location – at 104 Main Street in Lake Leelanau – “has hosted Nittolo’s, Bella Fortuna, [and] Keys to the County” in the past.

“We had a planned closure in October, and it turned into more, so unfortunately, we are no longer operating that location,” Nittolo confirms to the Leelanau Ticker of the Lake Leelanau space, before adding: “That’s all I am authorized to tell you.”

Nittolo says he is working with his attorneys to prepare a written statement about the closure, which he plans to share within the next few days.

Nittolo’s opened in Lake Leelanau in 2021, operating two restaurant concepts – Nittolo’s Pizza and Nittolo’s Seafood & Social – under one roof. The Leelanau Ticker broke the news in November 2022 that Nittolo would be adding a third concept, a Spanish tapas and wine lounge called The Social, in 2023, but that aspect of the business proved short-lived.

While it’s the end of an era for Nittolo in Lake Leelanau, it’s not the end of the Nittolo’s brand. Last year, Nittolo opened a second location, called Nittolo’s Little Italy, in the Warehouse District in downtown Traverse City. The TC location, he says, is going strong.

“It’s a zoo; it’s so packed in here every night,” Nittolo says of the Little Italy location. “But we didn’t close [Lake Leelanau] because of [Traverse City].”