What's behind the sudden closing of a popular Charlotte Italian restaurant?

The Charlotte restaurant world was startled Friday night by the sudden announcement that Luca and Jessica Annunziata are closing their Elizabeth Avenue restaurant, Luca Modern Italian Kitchen.

Annunziata said Saturday that the couple, who both ran the restaurant, had decided that it was too stressful for their family, including their 4-year-old son, Julian.

"It's been 13 years (in the restaurant business) and I never put my family first," said Luca Annunziata, 40. "I always put the restaurant first, never the family."

Annunziata says he will be taking a job in the hotel business in Charlotte, although he didn't want to say which one yet.

Meanwhile, Jessica Annunziata plans to start her own company offering food and beverage tours in the Carolinas. She also hopes to do travel writing.

"We're trying to find balance," she says. "Luca hasn't been home (to Italy) in eight years."

Both emphasized that some reports on social media that the restaurant wasn't doing well aren't correct. They originally started with a very small spot in Fort Mill, Passion8, before moving to a larger space on Elizabeth Avenue several years ago. After struggling with a farm-to-table menu, they changed the restaurant's name and focus to Luca, with a focus on Annunziata's style of Italian regional cuisine. Since then, they said, the restaurant has increased its business. Jessica Annunziata says that they had recently bought out the lease and didn't owe any creditors.

"Ever since the rebrand, we grew," Luca Annunziata said. "We've been busier than ever on the weekends. We owe money to no one. We paid everybody."

Jessica Annunziata said that's why they decided to make the change now.

"All the things we set out to accomplish, we checked those boxes. It's bittersweet, because it's all come together."

Luca said that the stress of running a business was the biggest issue for him.

"The cooking part, that's the fun," he said. "It's the hours and the pressure. I missed my son's first step because I was working. His first word was mama, not daddy."

His new job, he said, will allow him better hours,

The restaurant will remain open through this week and will close after Easter brunch next Sunday.

"That's the last supper," Jessica Annunziata said, laughing as she noted it's also April Fool's Day. "Don't think that means anything — we're serious."

Kathleen Purvis; 704-358-5236.

This story was originally published March 24, 2018 at 2:14 PM with the headline "What's behind the sudden closing of a popular Charlotte Italian restaurant?."