“Pastificio” means “pasta factory” in Italian, and the new restaurant bearing the same name in Fayetteville offers to its customers exactly that: fresh and homemade pasta dishes, among other cuisine options, made from scratch.
Sisters Jennifer Polak and Michelle Rand opened the restaurant at 210 Brooklea Drive in Fayetteville on May 14 to an overall positive response. “We’ve already have some customers who have become regulars,” said Polak.
In addition to pasta and sauce dishes made from scratch, Pastificio offers a daily breakfast menu, a café, fresh baked breads and desserts, fresh salads, an array of sandwiches made from deli meats smoked in-house and homemade sausage.
Polak, an experienced chef who has worked in a variety of different cuisines, said she got inspired to open her own restaurant that focuses on fresh homemade pasta after being trained to make it. Chefs at Pastificio make from-scratch rigatoni, fusili, fettucine, angel hair and lasagna.
“I’m Polish, so I grew up making pirogues and when I went to OCC and learned how to make pasta, I just fell in love with it,” said Polak. “I think our menu is unique and will appeal to a lot of different tastes.”
Pastificio is in the location of two former bakeries and cafés, so Polak said she wanted to continue to provide a casual dining experience for families on-the-go for all meals of the day. Pastificio is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as ordering to-go.
“There really aren’t many places where you can come in and sit down with friends and family to have a nice meal, but also have the option to eat a healthy and fresh meal for take-out,” said Polak.
In addition to the restaurant and café, retail is prominent part of the business. All of their fresh pasta is available for purchase, as well as the homemade sauce. Large orders of all of the dishes are available to order for groups and business meetings. Gluten free options are available and the restaurant will work to accommodate customers with different dietary needs.
What makes Pastaficio stand out, said Rand, is the importance of fresh and homemade foods made with local products.
“We use the other businesses here on Brooklea Drive, like Olive on Brooklea and Deckers Wine & Spirits, and we make sure to buy local whenever we can because we want to know we’re using the best and most healthy products in our food,” said Rand.
Polak said she believes the catering end of the business will be appealing to many people because there is a large opportunity for customers to customize their orders.
“We can really make whatever a group is looking for. I like that we can be creative in that way,” said Polak
The restaurant will soon get second pasta machine, which Polak said will provide the capacity to make a wider variety of pasta for dine-in and retail purposes. Polak said she hopes to begin to make dry and infused pastas for retail.
Pastificio is located at 210 Brooklea Drive, Fayetteville, and is open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday. Parking is available at the rear of the restaurant and it is handicap accessible. For more information, call 632-4560, email [email protected] or go to facebook.com/pastificiocny.
