Vasi’s Taverna Closes After 18 Years in Business, One Year After Gordon Ramsay Re-brand

The new decade has kicked off with some more sad news, as Vasi’s Taverna in Waterbury has decided to close its doors for good after 18 years in the business. This decision from Vasi’s owners comes as a shock to many of us.

In late 2018, this Italian-American eatery gained some fame when the glorified A-hole celebrity chef, Gordon Ramsay, filmed the restaurant for his show 24 Hrs to Hell and Back. It aired January 16, 2019 on FOX, almost a year to the date. Things were looking up as Ramsay completely flipped Vasi’s on its head and transformed it, from operations to appearance, in the matter of 24 hours.

As always, Ramsay took his tough-love approach with the staff, changed the name of the restaurant, simplified menu items, added “trendy” choices and gave the place a face-lift before re-launching. In a recent Facebook post announcing the popular restaurant's closing, the owners of Vasi’s Taverna said:

Since February 2002, Vasi’s Taverna (formerly known as Vasi’s Restaurant and Bar), has been honored to serve the greater Waterbury area. Despite the support of our loyal customers and our efforts to rebrand over the last year, we have made the difficult decision to close our doors. We thank all of our loyal customers and employees for the great run we had.

If you have any question or concerns regarding our closing, please leave a message 203.755.3936 and we will return your call. Thank you all very much.

Just last month I reached out for comment to see how they were doing since his visit. Unfortunately, Ramsay can’t save them all.

While the closing of Vasi's marks the end of an era and a great run in Waterbury, the owners of the establishment say they're proud to continue serving the community at Spartan Restaurant & Bar on Chase Parkway.

Check out the photos of Gordon Ramsay's visit to Waterbury last year. In these photos, Ramsay is seen dining at Diorio Restaurant & Bar (Not Vasi's):