When Ethan Stowell opened Bar Cotto in 2013, he was hopeful that Capitol Hill’s legions of hungry, thirsty hipsters would appreciate the concept of an urban Italian salumeria: cold cuts, sausages, cheeses, fried bread puffs, pizzas, simple wines.
Didn’t work out to his satisfaction, so he put Bar Cotto (and its next-door neighbor, Anchovies & Olives) up for sale.
Not since Stowell closed Union (his very first restaurant) after the collapse of Washington Mutual Savings Bank in 2008 threw the downtown economy into a tailspin, had he taken such a drastic step.
And now a buyer for the space has stepped up: a first-time owner named Brandon Barnato, whose previous restaurant experience includes a stint as the bartender at Via Tribunali on Queen Anne.
