HR0685 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0685 LRB100 15489 ALS 30512 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives would like to recognize the Monastero family and Monastero's Ristorante on their 55 years of service to the Chicago community; and

WHEREAS, The history of Monastero's Ristorante begins in the town of Caccamo, located in the province of Palermo, Italy, with Sebastiano and Maria Monastero; the family moved to Philadelphia with their daughter, Gina, in 1930; shortly after, their two sons, Joseph and Salvatore "Salvy" were born; the depression hit, and the family moved back to Caccamo in 1933; and

WHEREAS, The dream of America was alive for the Monastero's two sons, and Salvy returned to Kankakee in 1951; he was followed by Joe in 1952 and Gina in 1953; the siblings sent for their parents in 1956, and the family worked towards their dream of opening a restaurant; and

WHEREAS, Joe, Gina, and Salvy Monastero opened their first restaurant, La Canopy, on November 26, 1962; Salvy greeted the customers, purchased produce at the South Water Market and cut the meat; Joe bartended, played the accordion for the guests, sang with Salvy, and ran the business; Gina kept the family home in order and made all of the manicotti, cannelloni, lasagna, and cannoli at home and sent them to the restaurant with her brothers; this was the essence of a true Sicilian-style family restaurant; and

WHEREAS, The doors to the current Monastero's Ristorante opened on February 6, 1967; the menu of authentic homemade Sicilian cuisine and the setting that highlighted Sicilian traditions and culture made the restaurant a Chicago landmark; everything, including the mayonnaise for the salad dressings, was homemade; and

WHEREAS, As the restaurant continued to grow, the family added an open-air garden room and held their first wine festival, which featured a traditional harvest banquet, entertainment, and women crushing grapes with their feet in wine barrels to compete for the title of Wine Festival Queen; the family also founded the Bel Canto Opera Evenings Contest featured four evenings of fine dining and opera singers, where over $50,000 in prizes were awarded annually; and

WHEREAS, Monastero's Ristorante began hosting banquets in the lower level of the restaurant; the popularity of the banquets and the urging of their customers led the family to build a larger banquet room, which they named the Boticelli Room; a few years later, the Taste of Chicago approached the Monasteros, and the family sold their Sicilian Aracine at a booth at the festival for two years; they opened Gina's Banquet Room in June of 1992; and

WHEREAS, Three generations of Monasteros have welcomed customers into their extended home and family; the secret to success for the Monastero family as been their tradition of enthusiastic family involvement that has continued through the closing of the restaurant on November 18, 2017 under the guidance of Joe Sr. and his wife, Martha, their daughter Maria Giorgia Orszula, and their son Joe Jr., and Salvy's daughter, Maria Elisabeth Bueno; Joe Jr. and Martha have run the business office, Executive Chef Maria Giorgia has overseen the kitchen, created new recipes, and managed the advertising and social media pages, and Maria Elisabeth has been the Director of Catering for the private dining rooms; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we recognize the success of the Monastero family and Monastero's Ristorante, which was based upon the finest of ingredients and a warm family atmosphere that allowed their customers to feel at home while dining; we wish them success in their future endeavors; and be it further

RESOLVED, that a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the Monastero family as an expression of or esteem and respect.