Tre Pazzi Trattoria, the Italian restaurant that has anchored Auburn's historic Kreuzberger Building at 928 Lincoln Way, is closing its doors for good on Dec. 31, 2026. Staff announced the news in a social media post on Monday, saying the building's landlord declined to renew the restaurant's lease.
The closure marks the end of a long run for the family-style trattoria, though accounts differ on just how long. According to The Sacramento Bee, staff say they worked in Auburn for 17 years, while the outlet's own reporting describes the closure as capping off nearly 20 years in business. Separately, a report from abridged.org puts the restaurant's run at 17 years and states plainly that the landlord declined to renew its lease at the Kreuzberger Building.
Gary Capps has owned Tre Pazzi since it opened in 2010, according to the same abridged.org report, which notes he founded the restaurant along with the late Jim Bril. Over the years, the trattoria built a reputation as an Auburn favorite for pasta, pizza and meaty main dishes, the report states.
A Menu Built On In-House Italian Cooking
Tre Pazzi's own website describes a menu of traditional Italian cuisine, with dishes made in house and prepared to order using local ingredients when available. The restaurant has also added a gluten-free menu over time, per the abridged.org report. Online menu listings cited by the Bee highlight dishes like mushroom ravioli, yellow pillow gnocchi, red wine mushroom ragu and polenta lasagna as among the restaurant's popular offerings.
Beyond food, the trattoria has leaned into its Italian identity at the bar as well. The restaurant's website notes that all of its wine and beer is imported from Italy, and that it now also serves a selection of Italian cocktails. Through Dec. 31, Tre Pazzi remains open weekdays from noon to 9 p.m. and weekends from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m., according to the Bee's reporting.
No Word Yet From Restaurant Staff
Tre Pazzi did not respond to an interview request from the Bee, leaving some details of the closure, including the exact circumstances behind the lease decision, unaddressed publicly. The restaurant's final weeks will run through the end of the year at its longtime Lincoln Way address in downtown Auburn.
The closure adds to a string of long-running restaurant shutdowns across the region this fall. The Bee has reported that the beginning of the fall business season saw several restaurants with long histories calling it quits, including a family-owned Midtown Sacramento Mexican restaurant that closed after a 19-year run in Lavender Heights with a final business day in late September. Farther south, the Orange County Register recently tallied four restaurant closures in Orange County this month alone, underscoring the pressures facing independent restaurants well beyond Auburn.
