Our speaker on August 11th was Tony Mazzeo, owner of Mazzeo's Ristorante. Joan introduced Tony and reminded us of his generosity to our club especially hosting our wine pairing which had raised over 25,000 for our foundation over the years. Tony gave us a brief history of the restaurant which he has been in for 34 years and that his parents founded. He moved from Winter St to the current location 12 years ago and that has proven to have been a good investment. He told us that the restaurant business is never easy but that the pandemic really hit them all incredibly hard. He was able to survive thanks to his dedicated staff and customers when he converted to take-out only. This included having to order take-out containers from every source he could find and filling his entire dining room with them.
Tony then told us he considered his chefs to be his partners and introduced us to along with his two chefs Lee and Bret. Bret, who would be considered the chef de cuisine, talked to us about the many handmade items they offer while serving over 2,000 diners a week. On a Saturday night he has 13 staff members in his kitchen. Lee, who has been there for 33 years, without a sick day according to Tony, spoke to us about what it’s like to make 350 pounds of fresh pasta a week along with hundreds of gallons of sauce and hundreds of desserts. Lee also handles the catering aspects of the business. Tony also let us know we can now get their famous sauce in a jar at the restaurant and at other local retailers.