Get ready for the second opening of the Cala Lily Café.

The Richland restaurant closed in late May 2014 after the lease expired, but owners plan to soon reopen the café in a former Japanese eatery, also in Richland.

They're renovating the empty Edo Japanese restaurant in Grandview Crossing on Route 8 to resume serving crab bisque, lobster ravioli and Chilean sea bass, plus $15 early-bird dinner specials, before September.

The Cala Lily Café will be about one mile north of its previous location at Route 8 and Ewalt Road. Last week, chef Rick Rivero was already in his new work space.

“It's kind of the ultimate kitchen. ... I have more cooking capacity,” said Rivero, 55, of Richland.

Rivero co-owns the Cala Lily Café with Paul Anzaldi, former chef of the former Red Bull Inn, formerly in Ross.

Years ago, a mutual friend introduced the men, who then developed a friendship that led Rivero and Anzaldi to open the Cala Lily Café in 2001.

Rivero and Anzaldi opted to reopen the café in the former Edo Japanese restaurant after a deal fell through to relocate the café at the site of Monte Cello's on Route 8 in Hampton.

“I'm glad to hear that he's going to be reopening,” Hampton Manager Chris Lochner said.

The café will seat 59 guests.

Rivera expect the finished décor to remind people of a “little boutique restaurant in New York City,” he said.

Rivero honed his culinary skills at Rico's Restaurant in Ross, where he worked for 20 years.

“I had a knack for pasta,” Rivero said.

Rivero is working with Don Mervis and Jim Sullivan Sr. of H-MAK, Inc. to furnish and equip the café.

“People are going to have to make reservations well in advance,” said Mervis, former owner of the former Stone Mansion Inn in Franklin Park, and former general manager of Rico's Restaurant in Ross. “The Cala Lily Café will be a refreshing addition.”

Deborah Deasy is a staff reporter for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at ddeasy@tribweb.com.

---

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)

---