The Pasta Tree Celebrates 43 Years

Suzzette Metcalfe, owner of The Pasta Tree Restaurant & Wine Bar. Photo by Sophie Bolich.

Just over two decades ago, Suzzette Metcalfe was juggling two restaurants—one in Milwaukee, another on Maui—with a third in the works for Miami. Before that, the she made a name for herself in high-end kitchens across Illinois, rubbing elbows with venerable chefs like Gail Gand and Michael Kornick.

Now, in early 2025, those hectic days feel like a distant memory as Metcalfe sits in the quiet dining room of her Lower East Side restaurant, The Pasta Tree.

“We just celebrated 43 years,” said Metcalfe, who’s owned the business for 18 of those. “There’s not many others that can say that.”

The Pasta Tree, 1503 N. Farwell Ave., has doubled in size under Metcalfe’s leadership, with her personal touches—and love for thrifting—shining through in the restaurant’s unique vintage decor.

It’s also where her industry journey began at age 16. After dining there for her sister’s birthday, Metcalfe applied for—and landed—a job as the restaurant’s prep cook. Her ambition was apparent early on, as the young chef contributed personal recipes like rosemary bread and honey poppyseed dressing, also pushing the restaurant to add lunch service.

“It’s just in my nature,” she said. “I’m a kind of a leader, not a follower.”

Though she eventually left Milwaukee to pursue culinary opportunities across Wisconsin and Illinois, Metcalfe returned to The Pasta Tree when one of its original owners, Robert, was diagnosed with glioblastoma.

“He thought of me as a daughter,” she said. “And asked me if I’d be interested in in taking it over.”

Metcalfe purchased the restaurant in 2007, at the same time she was buying a house on Maui to help her dad run his bar and restaurant, The Rusty Harpoon. In a cruel twist, Metcalfe’s dad also passed from glioblastoma, leaving her to inherit the business while still processing the loss.

For several years, Metcalfe balanced both restaurants, flying back and forth between Milwaukee and Maui. “I have no idea how I did it, but I did it, and thank God for my support staff on both sides,” she said.

The near-constant travel came to a halt when fallout from the 2008 recession forced Metcalfe to close the Maui restaurant. The loss was heartbreaking, she said. “Not only did I lose my dad, but I lost his business, and I lost a part of myself.”

The experience, though painful, gave Metcalfe a new appreciation for balance. “I put my heart and soul into that business, and I lost it,” she said. “My vow to myself, then, was that I would never again put that much of myself into a business.”

Metcalfe lives out that promise today at The Pasta Tree, where she’s fostered a trusting and respectful relationship with her nine staff members. “I think it gives them a real sense of pride,” she said, emphasizing that her focus is on experience, not accolades.

“I’m not here on this earth to be successful,” she said. “I’m here to be happy, and to leave a dent on everyone else’s hearts.”

The Italian restaurant crafts its fresh pastas and breads in-house, using an inherited pasta roller that’s survived many decades — and one devastating accident that almost cost Metcalfe her hand.

The kitchen is small, and has no walk-in freezer, so ingredients are fresh and dishes rarely made ahead. During the spring and summer, Metcalfe grows her own herbs on the restaurant’s sheltered back patio, a space that she calls The Secret Garden.

House specialties at The Pasta Tree include homemade meat lasagna, lamb bolognese and smoked salmon Alfredo — all of which have been preserved from the restaurant’s original menu. “We can all do it blindfolded,” Metcalfe said of the staple dishes, noting that she channels her creativity into an ever-changing list of specials.

Metcalfe refers to herself as an artist, and her medium is food. “The reason I do it is to make people happy,” she said. “It makes me happy to give people jobs, and it makes me happy to pay my employees their wages. The restaurant industry is a business of love and passion — people aren’t in it because they want to be rich.”

While honoring the 43-year milestone, Metcalfe is increasingly focused on the future of her restaurant. “I’m starting to think a little bit out of the box,” she said. “What do I want to be when I grow up?”

Metcalfe would consider selling the restaurant — not now, but maybe five years down the road, she said — noting that she’s been readying employees who have shown interest.

She also hopes to expand The Pasta Tree’s catering business and is looking into selling packaged products such as signature sauces and lasagna made with the restaurant’s original recipes.

As Metcalfe looks to the future, she does so with unbridled enthusiasm. After decades of experience, she remains at heart the same eager chef, full of fresh ideas.

“I’ve always had this dream of just living on a little island with a restaurant that serves whatever fruit is in season, whatever fish they’re pulling out of the ocean,” she said. “That’s what we’re having today. And when we’re done with it, we close.”

For more on Metcalfe, see Urban Milwaukee’s 2015 profile.

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