Full Text of HR0685 100th General Assembly
HR0685 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives would like to recognize the Monastero family | 4 | | and Monastero's Ristorante on their 55 years of service to the | 5 | | Chicago community; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, The history of Monastero's Ristorante begins in | 7 | | the town of Caccamo, located in the province of Palermo, Italy, | 8 | | with Sebastiano and Maria Monastero; the family moved to | 9 | | Philadelphia with their daughter, Gina, in 1930; shortly after, | 10 | | their two sons, Joseph and Salvatore "Salvy" were born; the | 11 | | depression hit, and the family moved back to Caccamo in 1933; | 12 | | and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, The dream of America was alive for the Monastero's | 14 | | two sons, and Salvy returned to Kankakee in 1951; he was | 15 | | followed by Joe in 1952 and Gina in 1953; the siblings sent for | 16 | | their parents in 1956, and the family worked towards their | 17 | | dream of opening a restaurant; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, Joe, Gina, and Salvy Monastero opened their first | 19 | | restaurant, La Canopy, on November 26, 1962; Salvy greeted the | 20 | | customers, purchased produce at the South Water Market and cut | 21 | | the meat; Joe bartended, played the accordion for the guests, | 22 | | sang with Salvy, and ran the business; Gina kept the family |
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| 1 | | home in order and made all of the manicotti, cannelloni, | 2 | | lasagna, and cannoli at home and sent them to the restaurant | 3 | | with her brothers; this was the essence of a true | 4 | | Sicilian-style family restaurant; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, The doors to the current Monastero's Ristorante | 6 | | opened on February 6, 1967; the menu of authentic homemade | 7 | | Sicilian cuisine and the setting that highlighted Sicilian | 8 | | traditions and culture made the restaurant a Chicago landmark; | 9 | | everything, including the mayonnaise for the salad dressings, | 10 | | was homemade; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, As the restaurant continued to grow, the family | 12 | | added an open-air garden room and held their first wine | 13 | | festival, which featured a traditional harvest banquet, | 14 | | entertainment, and women crushing grapes with their feet in | 15 | | wine barrels to compete for the title of Wine Festival Queen; | 16 | | the family also founded the Bel Canto Opera Evenings Contest | 17 | | featured four evenings of fine dining and opera singers, where | 18 | | over $50,000 in prizes were awarded annually; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Monastero's Ristorante began hosting banquets in | 20 | | the lower level of the restaurant; the popularity of the | 21 | | banquets and the urging of their customers led the family to | 22 | | build a larger banquet room, which they named the Boticelli | 23 | | Room; a few years later, the Taste of Chicago approached the |
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| 1 | | Monasteros, and the family sold their Sicilian Aracine at a | 2 | | booth at the festival for two years; they opened Gina's Banquet | 3 | | Room in June of 1992; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, Three generations of Monasteros have welcomed | 5 | | customers into their extended home and family; the secret to | 6 | | success for the Monastero family as been their tradition of | 7 | | enthusiastic family involvement that has continued through the | 8 | | closing of the restaurant on November 18, 2017 under the | 9 | | guidance of Joe Sr. and his wife, Martha, their daughter Maria | 10 | | Giorgia Orszula, and their son Joe Jr., and Salvy's daughter, | 11 | | Maria Elisabeth Bueno; Joe Jr. and Martha have run the business | 12 | | office, Executive Chef Maria Giorgia has overseen the kitchen, | 13 | | created new recipes, and managed the advertising and social | 14 | | media pages, and Maria Elisabeth has been the Director of | 15 | | Catering for the private dining rooms; therefore, be it
| 16 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 17 | | HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 18 | | recognize the success of the Monastero family and Monastero's | 19 | | Ristorante, which was based upon the finest of ingredients and | 20 | | a warm family atmosphere that allowed their customers to feel | 21 | | at home while dining; we wish them success in their future | 22 | | endeavors; and be it further
| 23 | | RESOLVED, that a suitable copy of this resolution be |
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| 1 | | presented to the Monastero family as an expression of or esteem | 2 | | and respect.
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