There are plans to open a second pasta-focused restaurant.
According to owner Sri Kumarasingam, work is currently being done on a second facility at 175 S. Front St. in Steelton.
According to Kumarasingam, the reason for the expansion was annoyances in the area of midtown Harrisburg where Pastorante, located at 1012 N. Third St., operates. Homemade pasta dishes including mac & cheese, oxtail ragu, and squid ink are the restaurant’s specialty.
Dine-in business has decreased, according to Kumarasingam, and customers no longer feel secure because of the District Lounge’s nearby guests loitering on the sidewalk. According to him, the problems escalated in the summer of 2022 when Pastorante’s front window was damaged by bullets, and customers had been complaining about the smell of marijuana.
Kumarasingam acknowledged that things had somewhat calmed down since we began looking.
Plans for the Harrisburg restaurant are in limbo, he added, despite the establishment’s strong takeout and delivery business. He stressed that he like the midtown neighborhood position close to state offices, but he is thinking about closing once the Steelton restaurant opens.
I would prefer to remain here if at all feasible. remarked Kumarasingam.
Steelton’s opening date has not been disclosed, and Kumarasingam stated that the property’s renovations will take three to four months. The restaurant will serve the same menu and is a little bigger than the Harrisburg site.
Stories by
Sue Gleiter