In the Know: Sauce Lady opens Buffetto in East Naples
The Sauce Lady launched her cafeteria-style eatery this month in East Naples.
Sauce Lady Buffetto opened March 13 in the Berkshire Commons space vacated last year when Starbucks moved its coffee shop to a new drive-thru in the same shopping center on the northwest corner of Radio Road and Santa Barbara Boulevard.
Ela Vivonetto, best known as The Sauce Lady, has created and sold her prepared sauces, soups and meals for many years from her storefront on U.S. 41 in North Naples. She chose an East Naples neighborhood to open a restaurant in an effort to serve year-round local folks.
“We didn’t gear this place toward the tourists at all,” Vivonetto said. “We did it for the people that live in Naples and who want good food at a good price and we want to be able to get to know them and for them to get to know us. Because I live here, too, and I’m not spending $50 for dinner. I’ll spend $10 for dinner, and we want to be able to show people that you can get a delicious meal for under $10.”
The dozens of selections and daily specials are available from a 20-foot hot table. Patrons can choose single entrees with pasta for $8.99 or two-entrée combo for $15.99 with Italian slaw and a garlic knot. Authentic homestyle lasagna is $14.99, served with slaw and a garlic knot.
“What we’re trying to do now is see what they like. You know, because we have at least 50 different items over at the other location, so we’ve been putting a few things out. We’ve tried the stuffed peppers. We’ve tried the stuffed shells, chicken Alfredo, Parmesan, cacciatore. Then we wait for feedback and see what people enjoy,” Vivonetto said. “The lasagna, of course, is very popular. Our meatballs are very popular, chicken parm, chicken Marasla is. So, we kind of are waiting for them to tell us what kind of soups they want and if they’re enjoying the chili and things like that.”
A la carte items include salads for $6.99, soups for $4.99, subs for $8.99, and desserts such as a Sicilian cream parfaits and buscotto cookies for $4.
The concept is confusing for some patrons who think Buffetto is an all-you-can-eat buffet, Vivonetto said.
“The name Buffetto does not actually mean a buffet, and so it is more the cafeteria style,” she said.
But unlike conventional eateries, items can be taste-tested by patrons before purchasing. “They can try the different things,” she said.
The Sauce Lady is operating full-swing at both locations. The original is the commissary kitchen for the restaurant and catering operations. Vivonetto is learning that a major difference exists between her store location and her new restaurant.
“The other place we manufacture and we package. People come in, they buy the product,” she said. “Over here, you have to predict who’s coming in, when they’re coming in, how to make sure the food is hot.”
The challenge, of course, is ensuring a quality product is available all day long.
“So, we’re getting there. We’re learning it,” she said.
Patrons may dine in or out on tables in Buffeto or purchase orders to go.
Online ordering is available with a credit card, and Buffetto will have delivery eventually.
“We haven’t started delivery yet, but we’re doing over-the-phone takeout,” Vivonetto said.
Sauce Lady Buffetto, 7083 Radio Road, is open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day. For more information, call 239-352-9557 or go to sauceladybuffetto.com.
More local restaurant news
► Bon Appetit Mediterranean Bistro opened in February in the former location of Tasteria European Bistro at Miromar Outlets in Estero. The new restaurant features French cuisine and Mediterranean-inspired salads, sandwiches, quiches, tapas, crêpes and decedent desserts such as tiramisu, crème catalane and tarte tropézienne.
The menu features specialty entrées such as Spanish paella, Greek moussaka, Lebanese chicken, Italian osso buco, French bourride setoise, pasta alla Norma, and couscous from Tunisia. The restaurant’s French-born chef was trained at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, and the proprietors also own and operate O’Provencale French Deli in Miromar Outlets.
Bon Appetit is located in suite F-193 near the kiddie playland at the northwest corner of the outlet mall, 10801 Corkscrew Road. It has indoor and outdoor seating for lunch and dinner. For more information, call 239-948-8199 or go to miromaroutlets.com.
► Burger 21 closed its only area location in February after operating for more than three years in Gulf Coast Town Center.
When Burger 21 replaced Elevation Burger at the regional mall in December 2013, the local franchisee of the Tampa-based “better burger” chain had plans to open additional locations in Lee and Collier counties, but they didn’t materialize.
Burger 21 still has nine locations in Florida and about 15 elsewhere. The nearest ones are in the Fort Lauderdale and Tampa areas, according to its website, burger21.com.
Know more
Restaurant Row adds 2 more eateries this week in East Naples
For the latest in local restaurants coming and going, see Tim Aten’s “In the Know” columns archived at naplesnews.com/intheknow, and on Facebook at facebook.com/timaten.intheknow.