Forty
Years of Fond Memories
at Sorrento's
by Rick Sorci
Nick Gazzano has
always been a
man who thinks
with
his head and acts with
his heart.
The 82-year-old founder
of Sorrento's La Cucina
Italiana in Melrose Park
was reminiscing recently
about how and why he opened
his business, which recently
celebrated its 45th anniversary.
"I
had my family on my shouIders,"
says Papa Gazzano, who
came to America in 1955
from Altavilla Milicia,
Sicily, where he was a
farmer. He came with his
wife Frances, and a family
of two, which would eventually
grow to four. "It
was the best way I could
find to support my family."
When
they first arrived
in this country, Nick
took a job with Leaf
Candy while Frances worked
in a factory that made
electrical
motors. But it wasn't
what either wanted
to
do with their lives.
So when the opportunity
arose
to buy Sorrento's,
a pizzeria on Diversey
and Long in
Chicago, they jumped
at the chance. Money was
tight, so when they
opened the doors in
1963, the
Gazzanos kept the name
of the previous owner.
Gazzano put his whole
heart and soul into
the
venture.
"We were mostly a
carry out and delivery
place," Papa Gazzano
says. "But we also
had 20 seats for people
to sit. We kept our
day
jobs and opened the
restaurant at 4 p.m."
It was the start of a
long run which eventually
took the Gazzanos to a
second location at Grand
and Wolf in Northlake
in 1969, followed by a
move to Fullerton and
Mannheim in 1971. The
business kept growing
and the family needed
more space. So they moved
the restaurant to 2318
N. Mannheim, its present
address, in 1979. Five
remodelings and expansions
later, Sorrento's has
a restaurant and bar that
accommodates 300 customers,
3 banquet facilities that
handles 100 people in
each room.
Pizza
is still a staple at the
restaurant, as it's been
since Day 1 four decades
ago. And the pride that
Nick and Francis have
shown in their product
has trickled down to their
four children: Nora, who
operates the kitchen,
along with brothers Russ,
Frank and Sam, who handle
all other aspects of the
business. Every sibling
is ready to step in to
work any station that
needs attention.
All
the Gazzano children have
memories from all the
years working the family
business. Nora, the oldest
of the four and whose
last name is now LaBarbara,
was looking over old photographs
recently.
"They
remind me of all the good
times we've had,"
she says. "Everybody's
enjoyed being here and
working here. lt's like
one big happy family.
So many memories."
Next
in line is Russ. A 1972
graduate of Lake Park
High School, he recalled
making pizzas when he
and brother Frank could
barely reach the table
where they were made.
"l
remember standing on a
Coke case to be able to
stretch the pizza out,"
Russ says. "And l
remember the kitchen always
being hot. But it was
exciting. lt still is
exciting."
Frank,
who graduated from Lake
Park in 1974, has his
own favorite memory. "We
had a jukebox in the restaurant,"
he says. "Three plays
for a quarter."
The
youngest of the Gazzanos,
Sam. He wasn't even in
school when his parents
opened the original restaurant.
He has other ways of recapturing
the past.
"The
things I remember were
historic events,"
he says. "Like when
Neil Armstrong walked
on the moon. I watched
it on T\/ at our restaurant."
Besides
a treasure trove of memories
from the restaurant, Nick
and Frances Gazzano have
four children, all married,
12 grandchildren and four
great-grandchildren. All
their dreams when they
left Sicily have been
realized.
"We
are a very close family,"
says Mama Gazzano. “The
holidays we all get together
or we just get together
here at the restaurant."
As
for Nick, he explained
the secret of his success
story. "You have
to put your whole heart
into whatever you do,"
he says. "I put my
heart into this business."
For
more information, call
847-455-9440. |
