DINING
this tasty and tastefully done space, which features original murals from the 1920s that were restored to their original splendor. “We have so many great stories from this place, which is a true landmark, but I will always remember when someone asked to bring their mom to the restaurant for her 102nd birthday,” says Gianfranco. “I wanted to do something special so we prepared a cake and had a table right next to the door so that this lady wouldn’t have to walk much but she insisted on sitting next to the mural. Well, it turned out that she was the woman in the mural!” Despite the difficulties of the pandemic, Gianfranco and Paula were able to find as many scrumptious silver linings as possible. They decided to renovate Mozzarella & Vino which is located just up the street in Il Gatopardo’s original location, and are currently working on adding 65 more seats to the space which serves the same quality of product but at a different price point. Instead of the same fancy setup and flatware, they put everything into the food cost. According to Paula, “You can order a panino or a salad, you don’t have to feel obligated to have a two to three course fine dining meal experience. A lot of our customers started to go there about five times a week and still come here so they aren’t competing, which was our fear in the beginning. It’s just two completely different concepts. During the six months that the whole company had to close down gave us more time to look at everything from the outside. We were so caught up in the day-to-day operations that we stepped back see to what we could improve on, especially with new technology and personal training. We are very thankful that we were able to continue providing healthcare benefits for all 160 employees during the shutdown.” Another appetizing addition to Il Gattopardo thanks to the pandemic – and lots of time and money? Their stylish outdoor patio which is reminiscent of a European street somewhere in Paris or Rome. “I thought, if we do this, let’s do something nice and go on the roadway with dignity,” exclaims Gianfranco. A father of a friend of our son who do big installations in Vegas as well as at The Javits Center helped us create something extra special.”
They also remained a tightknit family through it all. “We still like to think of ourselves as a small business even after all these years,” explains Paula. “Our son, who is now a student at the business school at Boston University – and is in charge of our social media program - and our 13-year-old daughter Sophia, have grown up in the business rolling around on tablecloths. Many of our staff and managers followed us from Sette MoMA and started out as kids. “We make sure that they reap a lot of the glory of our success,” adds Gianfranco. One thing is for sure – you are also guaranteed to become a part of this family once you experience their friendly service, decadent dishes and extensive wine and cocktail menu. Right now, they are witnessing a Roaring 20s comeback and are ready to welcome both old and new customers. In addition to creating memorable plates, they are also passionate about the non-profit organization called Gruppo Italiano, which promotes Italian culinary culture and products symbolizing the Italian lifestyle. “We try to help restauranteurs, especially now with the pandemic, by helping them with public relations, business, marketing, etc. We have worked hard for what we have achieved and believe in helping the community and sponsoring causes. We also enjoy working with kids from Food and Finance High School to educate them about the business aspect of the restaurant industry, and host classes on the basic principles of Italian culinary ingredients.” Gianfranco also believes that people in America are now understanding the importance of living day to day and enjoying life because as he says, “We don’t know what tomorrow is going to be, you don’t have to go crazy, but why don’t you go to a concert, or travel ,or enjoy a nice glass of wine or dinner with friends and family? We see that millennials are the ones who really understand this concept.” Let’s just say that at Il Gattopardo, you will indeed be living la dolce vita – only more deliciously. P ilgattopardonyc.com theleopardnyc.com
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