Trattoria Mucci, the Uptown location of the popular Mucci's Italian restaurant in St. Paul, will close Jan. 29, owner Tim Niver announced today. The restaurant took the place of Niver's short-lived Meyvn on Lake Street in 2019. "It's not been easy, but it's been wonderful," Niver said of the closure on social media.

Niver told the Pioneer Press that the lingering pandemic was just too much for the fledgling restaurant, which was modeled after, but had a slightly different menu than the original Mucci's on Randolph Avenue. Restaurants are in a precarious position with omicron raging and new mask and vaccination mandates in both cities.