How does an establishment such as Calarco’s Restaurant stay in business for over 75 years. The answer according to Vinny Calarco is FAMILY. When asked, it is obvious how proud he is of his parents which is where it all started and of other family members who have helped throughout the years. Although he and his wife Charlotte, have done a lot of work to keep it going, he always gives credit to the strong family connections for help in the success of Calarco’s.
Vinny Calarco, present owner of Calarco’s Italian Restaurant, says it all started in 1929 when his mother and father (Mama and Papa) opened a grocery store on Market Street in Westfield. They sold several groceries while Papa still worked on the railroad. In 1933 after owning the store for four years they received a number 45RL92 giving them permission to sell alcohol. It was their liquor license and it was after that that Mama started cooking in the back and it was then that they soon changed from a grocery store to Calarco’s Restaurant and Bar, sometimes referred to as The Venetian Room. At this point in 1933 they began serving food and alcohol. As times were tough in the years following the Great Depression, people found comfort in what quickly became a hometown gathering place. The restaurant operated out of what is the bar side only of the present building today. It wasn’t until 1960 that the dining room side was purchased which until then had been Westfield Laundry.
The first menu at Calarco’s looked something like this:
Dinners: Beverages:
Spaghetti Dinner…………………0.35 12 oz Beer ……….0.05
Hamburger……………………….0.20 Bottled Beer ……0.15 or 2 for 0.25
T Bone Steak Dinner…………….0.75 Whiskey Shot……0.15
The Restaurant and Bar had a variety of foods and drinks on the menu. The restaurant business began with lots of help from a large family with only a few people from outside the family being hired to help. It remains that way today. Several different members of the family have worked at Calarco’s in some form or another over the course of 75 years. From washing dishes, to serving, to bar tending to fixing things to ordering or keeping books, it has almost always been a family member taking part in those jobs. Vinny and his brothers tended bar as young as 13 years old. Others in the family would cook and do the work in the kitchen.
Vinny and Charlotte Calarco took over the restaurant in 1975. Sisters and brothers and nieces and nephews have all contributed but there own children have been very involved in the business with Tim helping to manage the restaurant and Ginnie becoming the main cook. She has been cooking there for over 30 years and it is Ginny’s secret, unique homemade spaghetti sauce and delicious specials that keep people coming back again and again. Ginnie’s son Brian fills in and cooks several days a week too.
Many of the most popular things on today’s menu contain the popular sauce and include Eggplant Parmesan, Homemade Lasagna and Chicken and Veal Parmesan. Steak and Seafood dishes and the popular Friday night Fish Fry are popular too.
The restaurant is filled with personality that has been acquired throughout the years. On the walls you will see pictures of Mama and Papa, photos of Vinny’s time served in the war, sports photos from family stories as well as the numerous teams Calarco’s has sponsored throughout the years. A mural of an Italian scene receives several compliments and was painted several years ago by Susan Wolfe and Rita Tewinkle
It is wonderful food at Calarco’s but the best thing about visiting this place is the atmosphere. It is an old style and cozy Italian atmosphere where every single person who walks through the door will feel welcome and comfortable.
In not so many words
The years have not always been easy ones, but families endure the best and the worst of times. And throughout the past 75+ years, we have endured and are proud of where we’ve been, where we are and where we are yet to go.
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Calarco's Restaurant, Chautauqua dining, Chautauqua places to eat, Italian restaurants in chautauqua, dining, eating, italian, food |
