The Rosa restaurant in downtown Portsmouth is getting very close to reopening its doors.
The restaurant's owners, Joe Barone and Mark McNabb, have nearly completed $1.2 million in interior and exterior renovations sine they purchased the State Street restaurant in December for $1.6 million.
On Friday morning, Mike McLean, The Rosa's general manager, said they are still doing a great deal of painting and electrical work. He said restaurant staff are being trained and if everything goes according to plan, The Rosa should reopen by Labor Day Weekend. The restaurant's new menu is also displayed by the main entrance and includes many of the traditional Italian dishes the former eatery served along with some new entrees.
The family-style Italian restaurant had been open for more than 80 years before it closed in 2012. Barone and McNabb have chosen to preserve the original Brunswick bar and renovate the second and third floors for condominium units. The restaurant also has all new windows, a fresh coat of paint and several flat screen televisions.
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