Buca di Beppo closes restaurant in Southridge Mall

Buca di Beppo abruptly closed its restaurant in Greendale's Southridge Mall Thursday.

After being open Wednesday evening, the dining spot shut down Thursday morning, with staff being told it had closed and a moving van on the scene, said Mike Doble, owner of the nearby Explorium Brewpub. 

A spokeswoman for the 78-restaurant Buca di Beppo chain, which is based in Orlando, Fla., confirmed the closing, calling it "a business decision."

The Southridge restaurant opened in March 2014. It was located on the upper level, near Macy’s and across from Explorium.

Buca closed another Milwaukee-area restaurant, at 1233 N. Van Buren St., about a year ago after 20 years in business.