Bravo! Italian Kitchen is closed again — apparently for good — at Lehigh Valley Mall

A popular Lehigh Valley Mall restaurant — which closed for more than a year and then reopened during the pandemic — is again closed.

Bravo! Italian Kitchen, which has been in an anchor location in the outdoor lifestyle section of the mall, has been removed from the mall’s directory and is listed as permanently closed on its social media.

It’s been quite an up and down for the restaurant, known for its approachable Italian fare.

The restaurant, part of a national chain, first closed in March 2020 just as the coronavirus pandemic impacted the Lehigh Valley. The chain’s previous parent company, FoodFirst Global Restaurants Inc., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April 2020 after struggling for months due to labor costs, employee turnover and many underperforming restaurants. The pandemic only exacerbated the situation for the company, which also operated the chain of Brio Italian Grille restaurants. The company was later sold in June 2020.

The restaurant then reopened — after being closed for more than a year and half — last October.

It leaves a large vacancy in the mall’s lifestyle center, which marked its 15th year in operation this year.