Beloved Brentwood cafe, Caffe Paradiso, shuts down following owner’s attack

BRENTWOOD, Calif. (KRON) — Caffe Paradiso in Brentwood is closing its doors this Sunday, a month after owner Domenico Testa was assaulted outside the cafe. Testa, who opened the cafe nearly five years ago with his partner Sylvie Chavanne, says the closure is due to the landlord not renewing the lease.

“I am totally afraid about the future, which until not that long ago, I was excited,” Testa said.

On June 27, Testa was attacked by two teenage boys after he confronted them for using his cafe’s table without being paying customers. The assault left him concussed and struggling with ongoing health issues.

“Still experience, like, dizziness and headache and pressure in the eyes constantly,” Testa explained.

The community rallied around Testa, raising money online to support his recovery.

“It’s just amazing. It’s just mind-blowing. I could not expect it,” Testa said.

Despite knowing the lease would not be renewed, Testa hoped for a happier ending to his business in Brentwood, where he had formed connections with many customers.

“The friendship, the connection with the children, with the dogs — you know what I mean? With the grandparents. You know, sometime we have a few generations sitting around the table,” he reflected.

Customers have been stopping by to wish Testa well in his recovery and future endeavors.

“That makes me feel really sad that they’re leaving. But I’m happy that I got to experience it for a little bit,” said a customer named Rhiannon.

Testa wished he could have hosted a farewell party for his patrons but admitted his mind is not in a celebratory state.

The suspects in the assault were arrested by Brentwood Police, and the case has been forwarded to the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Juvenile Unit for review.

All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KRON4. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KRON4 staff before being published.