What Once Was Al Forno Ferruzza Is Decaying, Thanks to a Busted Pipe

Stephen Ferruzza said he had to close because the landlord didn’t act in time to prevent an “excessive mold buildup.”

2738 NE Alberta St. (Michael Raines)
By Anthony Effinger

Address: 2738 NE Alberta St.

Year built: 1917

Square footage: 4,748

Market value: $1.3 million

Owner: Erzsebet Eppley

How long it’s been empty: 9 years

Why it’s empty: Because a pizza place left

The last tenant at this charming, dilapidated, two-story gem on Alberta and 28th was Al Forno Ferruzza, a Sicilian pizza place that opened in 2009 and closed in 2014.

At the time, owner Stephen Ferruzza said he had to close because a pipe burst and the landlord didn’t act in time to prevent an “excessive mold buildup” that “rendered the building unsafe for our workers and customers.”

Ferruzza and building owner Erzsebet Eppley ended up in court over another property a few months after Ferruzza closed his restaurant. It appears that Ferruzza rented both his business space and his home from Eppley. She evicted Ferruzza from a house on Northeast Tillamook Street in June 2014, according to court records.

Eppley, who calls herself an “independent apparel and fashion professional” on LinkedIn, didn’t return emails seeking comment or messages left with her attorneys. Ferruzza didn’t return a call seeking comment, either.

If you miss Al Forno Ferruzza on Alberta you’re in luck. Ferruzza has another location in Rhododendron. As for the once-lovely brick building? It’s decaying and is covered in graffiti. A sign with the name of a developer came down off the side recently, and Eppley owes two years of back property taxes totaling $2,397.56, according to Multnomah County records.

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