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 75-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 40th 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 this
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
200 customers,
with a banquet facility
that handles 100
people.
Pizza
is still a staple at
the restaurant, as
it's been
since Day One 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, is 44. 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, 12 grandchildren
and two 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
at home 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. |
Restaurant
