The once-popular Cafe Calato Italian restaurant in Rancho Cucamonga evidently has closed for good, at least for now. In a business park on Center Street just above Fourth Street, a stone’s throw from Ontario, and just down the street from our newsroom, Cafe Calato served inexpensive pastas and pizzas.

There was no note on the door Saturday and no activity. Based on Yelp comments, the restaurant closed around the beginning of June.

I don’t know much about Cafe Calato’s history, but it was in business in 1997 when I started at the Bulletin. A friend tells me the restaurant changed hands about three years ago and that the owner is having health problems. He offered his staff the chance to stay employed by running the place themselves, as long as they kept the place up to his standards. He visited a few days later, found the place a mess and, since that reflected on him, fired everyone and shut the doors instead.

Some people say what they mean and mean what they say, it seems.

* Meanwhile, I’ve also been told the new owner ran the place into the ground and cut a lot of corners, resulting in the C grade mentioned in the comments and a loss of business.

** Cafe Calato reopened under a new owner/chef in October.