In an emotional Instagram post, the team behind Matteo confirmed that December 28 will be the bakery’s final day of service, framing the closure as a “natural end” to the chapter and emphasizing community, legacy, and a final fundraiser benefiting Golden Hill Elementary School. While the announcement struck a reflective tone, the timing places the closure squarely within a period of escalating legal, financial, and reputational strain for the broader Buona Forchetta organization.
Matteo opened in early 2020, advertised as a 100 percent for-charity breakfast restaurant and Italian bakery, operating out of the former Rebecca’s Coffee space on 30th Street. Conceived as a nonprofit venture, the concept was designed to funnel monthly profits directly to local public schools, funding arts programs, supplies, and extracurricular activities. The restaurant was named after Cattaneo himself and positioned as both a neighborhood gathering space and a philanthropic counterpoint to his fast-growing for-profit restaurant portfolio.
At launch, Buona Forchetta promoted Matteo as a deeply personal project. Cattaneo had long described South Park as the neighborhood that gave him his start after emigrating from Italy, opening the flagship Buona Forchetta pizzeria there in 2013. That restaurant quickly became one of San Diego’s most celebrated Italian destinations, eventually spawning multiple locations across San Diego County and Southern California, along with a constellation of sister concepts including Enoteca Buona Forchetta, Gelati & Peccati, Carbón Grill, Meraki event space, and others.
Over time, some have raised questions about the structure and scope of Matteo’s charitable operations. While the restaurant consistently promoted its mission of giving back, detailed public information regarding donation amounts, frequency of distributions, or the legal framework through which funds were directed has not been widely published. Matteo did not regularly release public financial disclosures, annual reports, or itemized donation summaries, and it has not been independently confirmed whether the restaurant operated as a registered nonprofit entity or through another charitable arrangement. There is no public allegation that Matteo failed to donate funds as promised, but the lack of publicly available documentation has led to occasional uncertainty among supporters regarding how the charitable model functioned in practice.
The philanthropic promise of Matteo has increasingly existed alongside mounting controversy surrounding the parent company. On May 30, 2025, federal agents with Homeland Security Investigations - an arm of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement - raided Buona Forchetta’s flagship South Park restaurant and neighboring Enoteca Buona Forchetta during active dinner service. The highly visible operation involved tactical agents, flash-bang grenades, and the detention of multiple employees, triggering immediate community outrage and widespread national attention.
Federal authorities later confirmed the raid was part of a long-running “worksite enforcement” investigation. Unsealed court documents revealed that investigators had been scrutinizing Buona Forchetta for years over allegations that the company knowingly employed undocumented workers, accepted fraudulent immigration documents, failed to use E-Verify, and violated wage and labor laws. A federal affidavit alleged that nearly half of Buona Forchetta’s workforce had used fake green cards and described tip-based compensation structures that may have unlawfully replaced hourly wages. No criminal charges have been filed against Cattaneo or the company to date, and the investigation allegedly remains ongoing.
In the weeks following the raid, Buona Forchetta became the center of multiple additional controversies. An anonymous community-organized GoFundMe raised nearly $130,000 for four detained workers and their families, but questions later emerged regarding the transparency and timing of fund distribution. A second fundraiser launched by the wife of one detained worker suggested at least one family had not yet received meaningful financial relief, raising concerns among donors and neighborhood supporters.
At the same time, unverified reports circulated that federal agents may have executed a search warrant at Cattaneo’s Coronado residence. While those claims were strongly denied by his attorney and never independently confirmed by federal agencies, they further underscored the climate of uncertainty surrounding the restaurant group. Against that backdrop, Matteo’s closure announcement landed quietly -but heavily.
The Instagram post announcing the shutdown avoided any reference to the federal investigation, instead emphasizing transition and continuity. Cattaneo confirmed that Angela, the owner of Carbon Angela’s Kitchen, will take over the space, describing the handoff as rooted in long-standing trust rather than a simple business transaction. The post also announced a final fundraising effort for Golden Hill Elementary, reinforcing the charitable mission that defined Matteo from the start.
Yet the closure represents a symbolic retreat from one of Buona Forchetta’s most values-driven ventures. Unlike the group’s for-profit restaurants, Matteo was explicitly marketed as a nonprofit enterprise - one meant to embody community investment, ethical leadership, and social responsibility. Its shuttering raises unavoidable questions about the sustainability of that mission amid prolonged legal scrutiny and operational instability.
The bakery will operate on a limited schedule through its final day, December 28, offering patrons one last chance to visit a space that once stood as a feel-good counterweight to the high-growth ambitions of San Diego’s most prolific Italian restaurant group.
As Buona Forchetta continues to navigate a widening federal investigation and unresolved questions surrounding labor practices, Matteo’s closure marks more than the end of a restaurant. It closes a chapter that once symbolized goodwill, generosity, and neighborhood pride - now overshadowed by allegations that have fundamentally altered how the public views the company behind it.
Matteo is located at 3015 Juniper Street in San Diego's South Park. For more information, follow @matteoforacause on Instagram.
Originally published on December 16, 2025.