New Restaurant Coming to Fall River’s Old Lusitano Building

The Lusitano Restaurant recently filed an application with the Fall River Licensing Board to transfer an All-Alcohol Common Victuallers License to the alleged new owners of the Lusitano building. It seems as though “The Path Restaurant" may soon take over the South End building, located at 822 King Philip Street.

Reports show that the plan is to have a kitchen and two rooms on the first floor of a three-story building with a kitchen and banquet room on the first floor of a one-story building. There will be a public hearing on the application held on Tuesday, November 30.

I read the news with mixed emotions. I'm happy to see that the building will welcome new owners ready to serve the Fall River community, but part of me was nostalgic for the Lusitano I grew up with.

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You see, my aunt's family owned the Lusitano Restaurant & Royal Gardens Banquet Facility for five decades. In fact, my parents had their wedding reception there 30 years ago today on November 16, 1991.

My Titia Elaine would bring my twin sister and me along if she had to stop by and she was watching us. Kayla and I would each be served a slice of wedding cake and eat in the kitchen, peeking out into the dining room to stare at the beautiful brides in their pretty white dresses. I even worked there in my teenage years as a banquet hall server, never losing the love of weddings and the excitement that came with them.

Nearly 90 percent of our major family parties happened in that hall, from first communions and graduations to milestone birthdays and my sister's wedding day, 28 years after my parents tied the knot.

Owners Horacio and Maria Soares shut the restaurants' doors back in December of 2019. Lusitano was a part of our family's story, but I know that so many others on the SouthCoast loved this family restaurant. From its authentic Portuguese cuisine to the classic fado songs in the lounge, this was a one-of-a-kind spot that will be missed.