Full Text of HR0358 102nd General Assembly
HR0358 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, In 1966, Guido and Albert Zeller established | 3 | | Avanti's restaurant on Main Street in Peoria adjacent to | 4 | | Bradley University; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Following the success of the Avanti's near | 6 | | Bradley's campus, Guido and Albert decided to open a second | 7 | | Avanti's restaurant on the west edge of the Illinois State | 8 | | University (ISU) Campus in Normal in June of 1971; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Avanti's quickly became an institution for | 10 | | Illinois State University students and faculty; returning ISU | 11 | | students and staff, as well as Normal residents who have moved | 12 | | away, often choose it as the place they want to eat and bring | 13 | | their friends and family; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, In 1973, Guido bought his brother Albert's share | 15 | | and became the sole proprietor; Guido's brother Leo joined the | 16 | | operation in 1976 and became an integral part of the business; | 17 | | and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, Guido and his wife Anna lived in Normal and | 19 | | raised their four children, Marcus, Richard, Maria, and Judy; | 20 | | they are all involved in the business and live in the area; | 21 | | Guido became a U.S. citizen in the late 70s; he was very proud |
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| 1 | | of his dual citizenship and attributed much of his success to | 2 | | the opportunities available to him in the United States; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, Guido generously supported his Catholic faith | 4 | | through Epiphany Church and School; Epiphany Elementary named | 5 | | their playground "Guido's Grounds"; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Today, Guido's two sons, Marcus and Richard, are | 7 | | involved in the ownership and management of Avanti's; in June | 8 | | of 2009, they opened a Bloomington location on East Empire; | 9 | | and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Albert retired in 2018, and his son Stefan became | 11 | | majority owner and President and CEO of the five Avanti's | 12 | | Italian Restaurants in Peoria, East Peoria, and Pekin, | 13 | | Illinois; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, Avanti's continues Guido's generous tradition of | 15 | | giving back to the community; the Special Olympics, the Baby | 16 | | Fold, the American Cancer Society, and the ISU Scholarships | 17 | | Foundation are just a few of the many charitable organizations | 18 | | it supports, and it partners with many local schools and | 19 | | churches in fundraising throughout the year with sales of its | 20 | | signature bread and Gondola sandwich; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, This year, Avanti's is celebrating a landmark |
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| 1 | | 50th anniversary in central Illinois; therefore, be it
| 2 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 3 | | HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 4 | | we congratulate and thank the Zeller family for 50 years of | 5 | | great food and outstanding public service to the Peoria, | 6 | | Pekin, and Bloomington-Normal communities; and be it further
| 7 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 8 | | presented to the Zeller family as a symbol of our esteem and | 9 | | respect.
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