In the dining room of La Cava Restaurant, the sun sets behind a massive stained-glass window. It’s a beauty no photo can capture. Diffused light streaks through the air; reds, blues, and yellows stretch across the hardwood floor. It takes little imagination to envision this as Faith Reformed Church, which opened here in 1897. The windows are original. The former altar, with its 126-year-old banister, now houses the wine collection.
It’s late afternoon, a couple hours before La Cava’s first guests arrive, and the Salisbury restaurant has come to life. The kitchen whirrs. Pots land on the stove. Staffers review the specials. Owners Gianni and Mona Moscardini huddle with their manager and junior partner, Victoria Sanchez, at a table to discuss the evening’s plans: a party of 28, steady reservations. Not bad for a Monday.
Owners Mona and Gianni Moscardini (right, sitting) run the restaurant with general manager and partner Victoria Sanchez. photograph by Stacey Van Berkel
It’s become trendy to resurrect churches as restaurants, but La Cava was an early adopter when it opened here 29 years ago. Here, the old church’s charm and character remain. This isn’t retro-chic. This feels old world. “People will travel to Italy and tell us that they thought, ‘Hey, this feels just like La Cava!’” Gianni says.
That’s high praise for the Moscardinis. They lived in Italy for eight years after they married, returning to the country of Gianni’s birth. Running a restaurant was their dream, but the dream came with a schedule that was incompatible with raising a family. Instead, Gianni entered the granite industry, which eventually brought the family to Salisbury. When their children were older and this church went up for sale, they knew: Their dream had found its moment.
The eggplant Parmesan is the only dish that stays on La Cava’s menu. “If we took that off the menu, people would revolt,” Mona says. photograph by Stacey Van Berkel
La Cava’s food isn’t pure Italian. It’s pure Gianni, Mona, and Victoria; it’s menu as memoir. It reflects the couple’s time in Italy, Gianni’s early experience cooking in a French restaurant, and Victoria’s Mexican background. It’s rib eye tagliata, vol-au-vent, ceviche. What’s included on this menu is less about cuisine and more about philosophy: All dishes are scratch-made with quality ingredients.
When La Cava opened, Salisbury’s restaurant scene was mostly barbecue joints and fast food. It didn’t find its customer base initially. “There were a lot of nights of Gianni and I sitting out on the back steps smoking cigarettes,” Mona says, laughing. Eventually, guests came, then returned. When corporations opened nearby, they chose this as the place to impress clients.
Victoria turns meal presentations into tableside experiences. photograph by Stacey Van Berkel
Despite the traditional feel, Gianni, Mona, and Victoria want their restaurant to be a place of culinary adventure. They change the menu daily, and it often includes lesser-known dishes, like skate wings, a fish delicacy in France.
La Cava is where couples celebrate anniversaries and girlfriends gather for cocktails. Now, a party of 28 on a Monday night? No sweat. Perhaps it was a miracle under those stained-glass windows.
La Cava Restaurant
329 South Church Street
Salisbury, NC 28144
(704) 637-7174
lacavarestaurant.com
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