Cafe Ragazzi, the Montaner family's Italian restaurant, has closed on Surfside's Harding Avenue

Cafe Ragazzi, the Italian restaurant at 9500 Harding Ave. owned by singer Ricardo Montaner and his family, has closed, Surfside’s tourism director told the town’s Resort Tax Board on Oct. 12, according to draft minutes the board will vote on Monday. The minutes spell the name “Cafe Rigatsi.”

The closing rests on the director’s report. Red Sidewalks could not reach the restaurant Wednesday: its website shows only an error message. Uber Eats has listed it as closed since Sept. 25.

Whether it is gone for good is not clear. A resident posted on the restaurant’s Nextdoor page on Sept. 25 that its windows were covered, and on Oct. 8 that a sign on the building said “we’re moving” and offered the space for rent, furniture included. Red Sidewalks has not seen the sign, and no new location has been announced.

Questions about how the restaurant paid its workers go back years. In May 2023, the Spanish-language gossip show “Chisme No Like” reported that the restaurant was closing because of large debts to its employees, and its host, Javier Ceriani, said workers were owed up to 12 months of pay, El Diario NY reported. The paper said at the time that the closing had not been confirmed, and the restaurant stayed open. The report included no response from Montaner or his family, and Red Sidewalks has not been able to verify the claim. In 2018, a former employee sued the restaurant and Montaner in federal court, alleging that the employee was paid less than the minimum wage for tipped workers in 2016 and 2017, according to the complaint. Red Sidewalks could not find how that case ended. An allegation in a lawsuit is not a finding.

The town’s own Harding Avenue profile last year called Cafe Ragazzi a neighborhood favorite of more than 20 years, known for homestyle pasta, tiramisu and its dog-friendly sidewalk tables near 95th Street.

The same minutes report that Morelia Paletas has also closed and that a Pilates studio opened on 95th Street. More on that meeting and this week’s New on the block.

If you worked at Cafe Ragazzi or know more about its plans, write to [email protected].