Dario Bardoli’s son buys Chelsea’s

VERO BEACH — Chelsea’s on Cardinal, one of the island’s earliest gourmet markets, has changed hands again. Christian Bordoli, son of Dario and Diana Bordoli, the owners of Trattoria Dario, has bought the shop from David Busch. The two have been talking over the past couple of months and closed on the first of June.

“It seemed to come together very quickly,” says Diana Bordoli.

“I’m thrilled and it’s very exciting to have my name on all the papers,” says Christian Bordoli, 23. “But this is very much a family affair.”

Bordoli, a recent graduate of American University in Washington DC, worked in restaurants there and at his family’s former restaurant, Mangrove Mattie’s in Fort Pierce. He has been managing Trattoria Dario for the past year.

“He’s been phenomenal,” says his mom. “He’s got his hands in everything. He’s got the energy we don’t have.”

Christian and his father left this week on a two-week trip to Italy, intending to scour the markets there for products and ideas for Chelsea’s.

Bordoli wants to work on adding a café to the premises and hopes to extend hours both in the mornings and evenings, possibly being open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. “We’d like to start opening up on Sundays,” he says.

“He’s not going to take away anything anybody loves,” says Diana Bordoli. She says the staff is expected to remain in place, including the chef, Michael Chandler.

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