Paul Mineo’s in Westport Plaza has permanently closed

After serving upscale Italian food to West County for almost 13 years at 333 W. Port Plaza Drive in Maryland Heights, Paul Mineo’s Trattoria permanently closed on Saturday, Aug. 1.  

The last day of service was March 17, and the business simply could not recover from the effects of the pandemic. 

“It would’ve been impossible,” said owner Brigitte Mineo. “We had to make $3,200 a day to pay bills normally, and when you can’t be at full capacity, there’s no way it could’ve worked.”  

The restaurant was opened by husband-wife duo Paul and Brigitte Mineo, but Brigitte took the reins when Paul’s colon cancer took a turn for the worse just 8 months after opening in 2007. He died in 2009. 

“It was a horrible situation,” she said. “I learned how to operate the restaurant from the hospital. I kept it open for him. It was a lot of fun and a lot of work, but it was very expensive to run. … We thought about it for a month, and it was very hard. I didn’t want to close, but we had to, and I’m still just not believing it.” 

Although Paul Mineo’s has closed, customers can still visit other restaurants in the Mineo family restaurant group around the St. Louis area, including John Mineo’s, Filippo’s Italian Kitchen & Bar, Benedetto’s on Mai, Agostino’s, Il Bel Lago, Paul Manno’s Cafe and Sapore Italian Cafe. 

“I just want everyone to remember the good times that they’ve had at the restaurant, because that’s what’s important in life: to be with friends and family and have fun,” she said.