Via Tribunali to Close and Transform into a Larger Caffe Vita

Portland's pizza boom claims a victim. Via Tribunali, the Seattle-based, wood-fired, Neapolitan-style pizza restaurant in Old Town, will be transitioning into a larger Caffe Vita over the next few months.

Via Tribunali opened with much fanfare in fall of 2011. Portland's hoards of pizza lovers were excited to get their very own outpost of the extremely popular Seattle chainlet. But whether it was the location (Old Town ain't easy), an over-saturated pizza market, or bad ju-ju, the pizza is going away and coffee is taking over. The news broke in this Oregonian article by columnist Steve Duin, who, as a regular, is saddened by the news but not surprised. He recounts many nights dining among empty tables.

The article includes an email from the general manager, who writes, "As sad as we are to see Via Tribunali go, we feel that a full-service Caffe Vita is the best fit for Ankeny Alley."

Caffe Vita, the Seattle-based coffee roaster, is the parent company and it operates its mini Old Town location nearly out of the same space. There's another location on NE Alberta.

We reached out to the company to get details. We'll update this post when we get them.