When his family sold Lil Joe’s, Jeff Bruno thought it was the end of the family restaurant business that dated back to 1932.
Thirty years later, the family is celebrating the anniversary of Papa Joe’s in the Merriman Valley.
“We had sold Lil Joe’s Pub in Hudson in 1985,” Bruno, now 54, recalled. “And we thought we were all going to do something different.”
Then, he said, his grandfather Joe — “Papa Joe” — “got his buzz-saw idea to see us re-create the legacy.”
And for the last three decades, much to the pleasure of devoted diners, Bruno, sister Kim McLaughlin and mother, Judy Amato, have been doing that, continuing to serve up old-time favorites such as chicken parmigiana and lasagna, while adding a contemporary flair.
“We’re always pushing the envelope,” Amato said, noting the wine dinners her son puts together. Last year, one featured rock-star-of-the-wine-world Jim Clendenen.
“We have the Brussels sprouts!” she exclaimed, noting that the vegetable has been popping up on many restaurant menus.
Each month, executive chef Joe Alvis, with an assist from Bruno and others, creates an array of dinner features that likely would have surprised Papa Joe, despite all his adventurousness.
Pumpkin gnocchi sauted in maple brown butter with fresh sage and toasted pecans tempts this month. Also featured: mussels with Sambuca cream.
Those Brussels spouts? This month, they’re crispy fried and tossed in a mustard seed vinaigrette with fried capers, parsley and candied walnuts.
The menu’s mix of old and new school as well as moderate prices and consistency are key to its success, the family says. “We’re not white tablecloth,” Amato said. “We’re moderate upscale.”
Less than a year after Joe Iacomini sold Lil Joe’s Pub in Hudson (now the site of an assisted living facility), he, his daughter and her children opened Papa Joe’s in 1986 at the former site of The Lodge at 1561 Akron-Peninsula Road, at the intersection of Portage Trail in the Valley. Iacomini was in his late 70s.
Amato said her father, in addition to being the sort who couldn’t truly retire, wanted to help establish a business for her and her children.
And there was something else at work. He had suffered a heart attack at age 75.
“I think this was his last hurrah,” Amato said. “He saw he was given a second chance and he saw the right opportunity.”
Joe Iacomini died in 1998 at age 86, having kept one of area’s restaurant traditions going.
His parents, Eletta and August, started it all, serving spaghetti in 1932 in a room in the family home on West Exchange Street. Iacomini and his brothers worked at the restaurant, which had a live lobster tank and became known as a place for family gatherings, anniversaries and prom dates.
Iacomini’s on West Exchange was rebuilt in 1953 after a fire, and closed in 1985, after Joe Iacomini had opened his Lil Joe’s Pubs. (His son, Gene, owned the Lil Joe’s in Bath Township when Papa Joe’s opened in Cuhahoga Falls in the Merriman Valley; the Bath Lil Joe’s is now the site of Ken Stewart’s Lodge.)
Restaurant grows
At the outset, the idea was to keep Papa Joe’s small. Jane Snow, former Beacon Journal food writer, in 1987 described the place as tiny, the bar “postage-stamp” size.
But it proved so popular, the family quickly began adding rooms to the wood building, while keeping it cozy with low lighting, carpeting and upholstered chairs. By the mid-’90s, the restaurant had expanded to eight rooms, including a bar area with booths and high-top tables, and seating for more than 300.
Bruno focuses on food and wine, while his sister, Kim McLaughlin, is office manager and handles hiring and scheduling.
Bruno oversaw the 1995 addition of the 700-square-foot temperature-controlled wine shop (it can be booked for parties) and adjacent Italian Market, featuring hot meals for carryout and boasting imported Tuscan tile.
Bruno stocks a lot of Italian and California wines, as well as older vintages going back to the early 1980s, he says.
Chain grocery stores “can’t compete with that. It’s something different … We’re buying up futures [wine to be sold later] in Burgundy and barolo right now.”
About a dozen years ago, Bruno was out to eat and bristled at having to pay $30 for a bottle of wine — twice the retail price — at a Cleveland area restaurant. The experience led him to offer all of the wine shop’s bottles at retail prices in the restaurant.
About a decade ago, Papa Joe’s got a six-figure renovation, and was busier than ever amid all the construction. Loyal customers pulled them through, the family says.
Recent updates include air conditioning for the kitchen and a lobby makeover that includes two long-backed dark red couches.
While he’s been executive chef for eight years, Alvis has been at Papa Joe’s for 24 years — a significant tenure in the restaurant business.
Alvis, an Akron native, was hired two weeks out of culinary school at the Johnson & Wales campus in Charleston, S.C.
He initially had no expectation of sticking around this long.
“I get the freedom to create things,” Alvis said. “ I have free reign pretty much to do what I want.”
The place employs a total of about 70 full- and part-time workers. It’s celebrating 30 years by saluting longtime employees; their names and pictures appear on a flier. “We couldn’t have done it without them,” Amato said of the restaurant’s tenure.
Longtime Papa Joe’s customers Kathleen Stimler and her husband, Jim, say the mix of culinary adventure and old-time favorites as well as long-time employees is a big draw.
“You bring your family to a place,” Kathleen Stimler said, “and you want them to feel like you’re at home and you do here.”
Anniversary specials — petite prime rib on Wednesday and one-pound lobster Thursday — are priced at $19.86, reflecting the opening year.
Dessert First benefit
The deadline to get tickets for this year’s Dessert First benefit for the Girl Scouts of North East Ohio has been extended until 5 p.m. Friday.
The event will be Oct. 22 at the Embassy Suites Cleveland-Rockside at 5800 Rockside Woods Blvd. N in Independence. Northeast Ohio chefs will create desserts using Girl Scout cookies, and their efforts will be judged by guests and a panel of judges.
Proceeds support Girl Scout programs in 18 Northeast Ohio counties. Tickets are $150. Go to www.gsneo.org/en/events/dessert-first.html.
Tasting events
Last week we told you about lightweight boxing champion Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini’s visit Friday to the Jackson Township Fishers Foods, 5215 Fulton Drive NW.
The Stark County-based grocery chain has released its new Fall/Winter Top 16 wine list and has the following tasting events. Each features appetizers, runs from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. and costs $5:
Oct. 28: Fishers at 8100 Cleveland Ave NW in Plain Township.
Nov. 11: Fishers at 4403 Cleveland Ave NW in Plain Township.
Dec. 9: Holiday Tasting at the Jackson Township location.
Cocktail-making class
Ken Stewart’s Grille, at 1970 W. Market St., is jumping on the cocktail-making bandwagon, with a class at 6:30 p.m. this Friday. Participants will learn to create four “fall inspired” cocktails that will be paired with small plates.
Bartenders Melissa Leach and Lynzee Taylor will lead the class. It costs $50, plus tax and tip . Reservations are required. Call 330-697-6917.
Also at Ken Stewart’s Grille at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 1, the restaurant will host a five-course dinner with six wines, featuring Clyde Gilbert from Rombauer Vineyards.
Cost is $90 plus tax and tip. Reservations required. Call Terry Kemp at 330-697-6917
Akron tavern closes
The Office City Tavern in Akron’s North Hill has closed. It is unclear if the restaurant at 778 N. Main St. will reopen.
The owner could not be reached for comment. Messages were left with staff members at the sister restaurant still in operation in Cuyahoga Falls.
The Akron restaurant was dark last week, although tables were set and liquor bottles sat atop a table in the bar.
Just last year, the bar/bistro temporarily closed for renovations, and reopened as The Office City Tavern. The revamp was significant, with more booths and lighting aimed at giving the place a warm, pubby feel.
The new menu featured more lower-cost items, prepared in a kitchen sporting new appliances. Patrons said last year they were glad to see owner Frank Caetta continuing to invest in the brick building in North Hill.
The changes come after the 2014 death of Stephen Turner, who along with Caetta opened the Akron Office in 2006, giving a boost to the North Hill neighborhood. The Falls location opened in 2012.
Ivan’s Deli owner dies
Ivan Lefkowitz, owner of Ivan’s Deli and Catering, died Sept. 30 after a long battle with cancer. He was 55.
Lefkowitz was the longtime owner of Ivan’s on West Market Street in Fairlawn. He moved his business to Embassy Parkway a couple of years ago. His obituary noted that he fell in love with the restaurant business while in high school, working at an Arthur Treacher’s.
“He just wanted to feed everyone,” the obituary said. “His lean corn beef and chicken soup (Jewish penicillin) will always be remembered.”
Soup for the City
Soup for the City, the annual benefit for the Good Samaritan Hunger Center, is from 6 to 9 p.m. Oct. 22 at the Greek Community Center — part of Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church at 129 S. Union St., next to the University of Akron campus.
The event is a smorgasbord of soups contributed by local restaurants, served with appetizers and desserts. An auction is included.
Tickets are $50 at www.goodsamaritanhungercenter.org.
Clambake time
Clambake season continues:
• Valley Cafe in Wadsworth, 101 High St., serves from 5:30 p.m. until clams are gone this Saturday; $23.99 plus tax. 330-331-7555.
• Galaxy Restaurant, 201 Park Centre Drive in Wadsworth, near Interstate 76, begins at 4 p.m. Fridays through Oct. 28. 330-334-3663.
Benefit dinner
Enjoy a dram at the third annual Scotch, Bourbon and Wine Tasting Dinner to benefit the Safety Forces Chaplaincy Center at 7 p.m. Oct. 21.
The event has moved to Our Lady of Cedars, 507 S. Cleveland-Massillon Road in Fairlawn.
Cost — including appetizers and a buffet featuring three entrees and a pasta station — is $80; $150 couple. Call 330-376-0091 or go to http://bit.ly/2dJ9ccZ.
The Safety Forces Chaplaincy Center is a program of the Furnace Street Mission in Akron that provides free services, including counseling, to members of safety forces and their families.
Event attendees can get a group rate at the Holiday Inn West, 4073 W. Market St., in Bath Township, with a free shuttle.
Send local food news to Katie Byard at 330-996-3781 or kbyard@thebeaconjournal.com. You can follow her @KatieByardABJ on Twitter or on Facebook at www.facebook.com and read the Akron Dish blog at www.ohio.com/food.