Cafe Roma, the lunch spot across the street from the Capitol on L Street, has closed, reports the Capitol Morning Report.

Owner Abe Saadeh opened the establishment in 2010, offering coffee, pizza sandwiches, gelato, etc. Two years later, the restaurant doubled in size when Saadeh took over the adjacent space that once housed Mr. Don's Hair Design. The expansion allowed Saadeh to add several more tables, something he thought was necessary at the time to accommodate busy lunch crowds.

Read the entire entry in Tuesday's Capitol Morning Report (subscription required).

I stopped by on Tuesday evening and saw that all the tables and most of the equipment for the restaurant had been removed. A quick check on its very active twitter account shows that the last post was on June 11.

A restaurant matching its description was, at least at one point, on sale on RestX.com.

Having worked in and around the State Capitol for more than a decade, I've eaten at Cafe Roma more than a dozen times, but I haven't been there in several years. While the food was often good, I never felt full or satisfied after eating one of their salads. I don't have that same issue eating salads at other local restaurants like La Bou or Chicory.

While I feel for the owners and workers at the restaurant, I'm also excited for what comes next. Downtown needs a Pluto's or Jack's Urban Eats. Maybe this makes the perfect location for a takeout only store? One can only hope.

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I’m just tired of driving all the way to Rocklin to get a good slice of pizza… - Grayson and Sonia Lee are craftsmen. The Lee’s are the co-owners of Il Pizzaiolo in Rocklin and another location about to open in Loomis. These stores are the 2nd and 3rd of the Pizzaiolo family with the first being the brainchild of Lee’s partners, Pete and Jacqueline Lostritto. The Lostritto’s own the original location in Colfax (opened in 2012)  and co-own the new locations with the Lee’s. The Colfax restaurant has garnished much praise including a rare perfect 5 star yelp rating (after 60 reviews) and kind words from the dough-obsessed Bee food critic Blair Anthony Robertson. Their approach is simple. The dough, sauces, dressings, gelato, tiramisu, and croutons are all made in house. The prices are low, with a 12″ priced at $8. The pizza is Neapolitan style cooked in under 2 minutes at 800+ degrees. The ovens are built by Forno Bravo and named after Volcano’s, Rocklin’s oven is dubbed “Etna” and Loomis’ “Vesuvius”. Ryan Donahue in Sac Foodways.