The couple had three children and continued to operate The Rendezvous for about 20 years, renaming it “Anticoli’s” a few years before moving their restaurant to Salem Avenue. There, Anticoli’s grew in popularity and size, hitting its heyday under the direction of the founders’ children, including Michael’s father Leo. Leo himself would go on to operate Caffe Anticoli in Clayton and Giuliano’s Anticoli Tavern in Miamisburg before retiring at age 80 in June 2015.
RELATED: Former Anticoli restaurant closed for decades could be reborn (January 2017)
Michael founded La Piazza in 1992, and says he’s got several things up his sleeve for La Piazza’s anniversary celebration. Here’s a sampling:
• Monthly wine tastings on the 25th of each month, beginning in May. “These small, informal tastings — 16 people max — will feature the most popular wines we’ve had on our list over the years as well as small food tastings to pair with them,” Anticoli said. “Banfi wines have been a central piece of our wine program over the years and these tastings will showcase many of the wines that have been guest favorites.”
• Starting this month, La Piazza will offer 25-cent pints of Peroni beer, an Italian import, with any dinner purchase Tuesday through Thursday nights.
• Also starting this month, the Troy restaurant will be offering a weekly fixed-price dinner special for $25. “It will include a house salad with our signature garlic basil house dressing, an entree, side dish, and dessert,” Anticoli said. “It will change weekly and will range in scope including many Italian specialty entrees from past menus. It’ll be a fun way to present different things each week, and if there’s a story or some history behind a particular item, we’ll share it.”
• Diners can fill out an entry slip each time they visit starting this month for a chance to win a five-course dinner for six on the restaurant’s patio this summer. The winner will be drawn in August.
RELATED: Anticoli’s Giuliano Tavern to shut doors June 7 (May 2015)
“There are other smaller promotions that we will do later in the fall and into the holidays, capped off by an anniversary party the day after Thanksgiving when the square here in Troy is lit up with holiday lights,” Anticoli said.
What does La Piazza’s 25th anniversary mean to Michael? We’ll let him answer that in his own words:
"Simply put, I'm thankful. Twenty five years is a long time in the restaurant business. No two days are ever the same and the challenges are always present.
“And it reminds me that I’m getting older. I was 25 when La Piazza opened, so it’s definitely a time marker for me. It’s a milestone year in more ways than one. Celebrating our 25th in the same year I turn 50 gives me a sense of accomplishment as well as a sense of appreciation.
"I've watched children grow up in my dining rooms. I've had the pleasure of helping to create family traditions for people. The countless rehearsal dinners, the dozens of proposals over dinner, the graduation celebrations, the school dances, the holiday parties, the events that help to create memories and shape people's lives have all happened here.
“And through all of it, I’ve been proud to work hard right alongside some of the hardest working people I know. La Piazza’s staff is truly one of a kind, and it’s inspiring to be able to work with them on a daily basis.
"I also look out in the dining rooms and see many of the same faces that I've seen for decades. The ongoing public support and appreciation for what we do is humbling, and I'm very thankful for that. From our regular guests to those who are trying us for the first time, we try to provide the same consistency and energy that we provided on day one back in 1992.
"They say that life works in cycles. And to remind me of that, all I have to do is take a look at my dad, Leo, who gave me my start in the family business when I was a boy. I learned under him, and I try every day to provide the best of my family's 86-year restaurant history.
“And now, my dad, officially retired for a few years now, is assisting in the kitchen an hour or so a day a few days a week.”
For more information, check out the La Piazza Troy Facebook page at www.facebook.com/lapiazzatroy.
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