Osteria Mozza ready to reopen after crash

Did you miss your Mozza? Relax, the much-loved osteria is set to reopen Tuesday night, a little more than week after a portion of the restaurant was damaged when a pickup truck plowed through the front door.

Will Simons, general manager of Osteria Mozza and neighboring Chi Spacca, which was not affected by the crash, said Monday that construction crews had been working overtime to clean up the mess.

“Our trusty general contractor mobilized the best of the best and they’ve been working day and night to get it all done,” he said. “They’ll be working all night tonight, I’m sure.”

Photos from the Los Angeles Fire Department’s Flickr feed showed the damage from the April 18 crash. The accident happened just after noon, but the restaurant was closed as it does not serve lunch.

The photos show that the front facade had to be braced up with lumber and that the area around the hostess stand was badly damaged.

One employee was reported injured, but not seriously.

Pizzeria Mozza and meat-centric Chi Spacca remained open during the construction.

Osteria Mozza, 6602 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, (323) 297-0100.

Are you a food geek? Follow me on Twitter @russ_parsons1