La Scala refocuses, announces end of regular dinner service after 26 years in downtown Lafayette
A Q&A about why and what’s next.
Support for this edition comes from Round the Fountain Art Fair, getting ready to celebrate its 52nd year Saturday, May 23, on the blocks at the Tippecanoe County Courthouse in downtown Lafayette. Round the Fountain will be 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, featuring work for sale from dozens of local and regional artists, as well as tours of the Art Fair’s Permanent Collection on display in the Tippecanoe County Courthouse. (Stop by the information booth for tours, starting at 10 a.m. that day.) Admission is free. Money raised during Round the Fountain goes to the community’s high school visual art programs, The Arts Federation’s After School Arts Program, the Art League, and community art projects and appreciation. Come out Saturday and support fine arts education programs and your love for the art. For more information, go to roundthefountain.org.
LA SCALA REFOCUSES, ANNOUNCES END OF REGULAR DINNER SERVICE AFTER 26 YEARS IN DOWNTOWN LAFAYETTE
In another shakeup in downtown Lafayette’s restaurant scene, La Scala, a locally-owned fixture at 312 Main St. for the past 26 years, announced this weekend that it plans to end regular dinner service by the end of May.
Instead, owners Paco and Kirsten Serrano plan to convert the space across from the Tippecanoe County Courthouse into an event venue as they refocus on Serranos Mobile Kitchen, a food truck concept already stationed at local farmers markets and other events, catering and their meal subscription business.
“The economy has made it impossible for us to rely on dinner service for income,” Kirsten Serrano said. “After 26 years, the guys are looking forward to a new schedule and getting out of the kitchen on a regular basis.”
Here’s a Q&A with Kirsten Serrano about the move and what’s next.
Question: What’s driving the end of dinner service and the change in your approach with La Scala?
Kirsten Serrano: Multiple factors. First, we have been doing this for 26 years, and it’s time to shake things up. For 20 of those years, we served lunch and dinner and operated six days a week. We have always been incredibly hands-on — especially in the kitchen — and that’s a demanding lifestyle. When we opened La Scala, I was 28 and Paco was 33. This year, we’ll be 55 and 60.
Part of this change is simply that we get to evolve. We have spent 26 years perfecting a menu of Italian food, but now we also get to cook other cuisines and dishes. Over the past six years, we have operated a meal subscription service called Good to Go, and during that time I wrote 190 pages of menus. We now get to draw from that trove of trusted dishes to expand what we can offer through Serranos Events. The guys are excited to continue cooking while also being more out in the community. Paco and our amazing sous chef, Jorge, have now worked together for 20 years, and they are really enjoying the creativity and flexibility that comes with the Mobile Kitchen and catering work. The response to new items like Cannoli Stuffed French Toast and the Italian Monte Cristo at the Lafayette Farmers Market has been fantastic. It allows us to experiment, have fun and connect with people in a different way. There’s also something really meaningful about being able to cater weddings and events for people who got engaged at La Scala or celebrated major moments with us over the years. That full-circle feeling is pretty special.
The economy is obviously a major factor. We have maintained steady business, but since the pandemic the economic realities of running a full-service restaurant have become increasingly difficult to navigate. It’s not a demand-side issue. It is all about rising input costs. We won’t dumb down our ingredients, lower our food quality or replace senior staff to increase profit margins. Moving toward a model with significantly less overhead simply makes good business sense.
Question: What’s your timetable? And what’s next — for the location and for the Mobile Kitchen?
Kirsten Serrano: We hope to maintain our normal Thursday–Saturday dinner hours through the end of May. As for our brick-and-mortar location, we will still be there. La Scala’s dining areas will undergo remodeling to become a more flexible and event-friendly space. We are already booking private events at La Scala and expect that side of the business to continue growing.
The Mobile Kitchen allows us to participate in the kinds of events where people expect to see food trucks, but it is much more than a food truck. It truly is a mobile kitchen. The setup allows us to cook on-site when needed and gives us the flexibility to cater a wide range of events while still making food from scratch with whole ingredients. That commitment has not changed at all. There is a real demand for that kind of food and experience.
We are also excited to announce that we will be doing a significant amount of catering work with The Stables, and we expect to be very busy moving forward. We will also be putting on our own events. We haven’t gotten one set up yet, but please be on the lookout for public events at La Scala — special buffets, brunches and more.
We are also transforming our meal subscription program. We will soon be launching online ordering for single, double and family-sized meals that are completely prepared and ready to reheat. Customers will be able to order those in advance and then pick them up at the West Lafayette or Lafayette Farmers Markets.
Question: Was there a moment when you and Paco knew it was time for a change?
Kirsten Serrano: There wasn’t one single moment. We have been talking about and exploring “what’s next” for years. Originally, we viewed the Mobile Kitchen and event work as simply one arm of La Scala, but over time it became clear that this was the right direction for the future of the business.
We have been in this business long enough to know that we cannot know the future. We never thought we would run a meal subscription program or do catering or own a mobile kitchen. I never imagined I would own a restaurant. Right now, this makes sense and we are excited to settle into our new normal.
Question: How was downtown Lafayette when you opened?
Kirsten Serrano: It was very different. The original location had actually been a Quizno’s before it became a tiny Italian restaurant called La Scala, which was already going under after about six months. We bought the equipment, kept the name and built what became La Scala. Within two years, we had expanded into the neighboring building, and the La Scala people know today was born. From the beginning, we were deeply committed to building the business ourselves. There were no business loans.
Back then, downtown Lafayette looked very different — especially in the fine dining category. There was Maize, then us. Bistro 501 opened not long afterward. Over 26 years, we’ve watched countless businesses come and go. At that time, downtown was mostly office space. It felt like the sidewalks rolled up at 5 p.m. when the bankers and lawyers went home. We were never open on Sundays because, honestly, nobody was downtown on Sundays back then.
Slowly, downtown evolved into the place to go for fine dining from independently owned restaurants. We’ve watched it blossom into a vibrant small business district thanks to a tremendous amount of planning, investment and hard work from many people. We are honored to have been part of that growth, and we hope it continues because small businesses are really struggling right now.
Question: Any plans for a final week or final celebration?
Kirsten Serrano: There probably should be, but honestly, there just isn’t time. May has us running La Scala while also operating Serranos Events and the Mobile Kitchen at all three farmers markets, in addition to private events, catering jobs and Purdue graduation weekend. Right now, everyone is just trying to make it to June standing upright. The guys have had many 18-hour days lately.
Closing dinner service after 26 years is a major change, but we truly see this as a transformation rather than an ending — much like the shifts we made during the pandemic. People still need and want great food. We are simply changing the delivery model.
For 26 years, people have asked us to cater events. Now we finally get to say yes.
Thanks, again, to Round the Fountain Art Fair, getting ready to celebrate its 52nd year from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, May 23, on the blocks at the Tippecanoe County Courthouse in downtown Lafayette. For more information, go to roundthefountain.org.
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Time moves on, and changes come to downtown. I'm glad we will still have a way to get that tasty tasty food!
It’s sad for La Scala to close. But I love seeing them move on to something that they’re excited about, where their customers can still be a part of it.