Sometimes Michael Passalacqua just shakes his head in amazement.
“Even though there are a million things to do every day, I realize they are the same things my father and grandfather did. That is overwhelming at times when I think about it,” says the third-generation owner of Angelo's Restaurant in Washington, Pa., which celebrates its 75th anniversary with an open house on March 30.
Even though the techniques and equipment change, the recipes are still the same, says Passalacqua, 59. “It's still the sauce that my grandmother made. It's still her recipe for meatballs and for lasagna,” he says.
And, 50 years later, his aunt's salad dressing is as popular as ever.
Passalacqua credits his late grandfather Angelo's work ethic as the foundation for their success.
“He was a giant risk taker, an entrepreneur even before the word became fashionable,” Passalacqua says. “He made it to this country from Sicily at 16. He was 5 feet 6 inches, 110 pounds, and he shoveled coal on the ship for his passage to the United States.”
Angelo and his wife, Giacomina Passalacqua, opened a small neighborhood tavern on West Chestnut Street, a half mile from the current Angelo's, in 1939. After they began offering real Italian spaghetti and fresh Italian bread, the tavern became the West Chestnut Spaghetti Inn. Travelers on Route 40, then a major highway, were attracted to the food and the friendliness. Longtime customers say it is those qualities that remain a magnet today.
Angelo died in 1953 and his wife continued to operate it, with the help of two of her children, Silvio and Carmelina, until 1958 when she retired. The restaurant's name was changed to Angelo's that year, a full menu was added and the facility flourished.
Silvio, Michael Passalacqua's father, became the sole proprietor in 1981 after his sister retired. Michael and his sister Tonne left their jobs to come home and help their parents with the family business.
Tonne later left to pursue other opportunities and Michael became the third generation to own the business after his parents retired in 1992.
Silvio Passalacqua, 84, now chairman of the board of supervisors of North Franklin Township, jokes that he remains “the main inspector” at Angelo's. “I have to taste everything in there,” he explains, chuckling.
He is impressed with his son Michael's leadership, including, he says, the courage he displayed in moving Angelo's “to the top of the hill” near the Washington Wild Things ballpark (now Consol Energy Field) in 2008 to offer more room, a modern facility and to potentially extend its chances at a long life.
“My mother and dad would be very proud of what's going on. I'm very proud of him,” Silvio Passalacqua says.
Not mentioned is the time that Michael, at 14, then a busboy at the restaurant, spilled cold coffee on Sen. Edmund Muskie who stopped to eat during his campaign for the presidency. Smiles abounded, Michael Passalacqua insists.
“To me, the restaurant is a living, breathing thing. It's just as much a part of me as I am of it,” he says. “I love taking care of people. I love everything about it.”
He says he and his staff try to treat customers like guests in an Italian family home. “We fuss over them and make friends with them, get to know them,” he says. “We have a warmth about us that has gone from generation to generation. People have some of their best moments and good times with us. There are four and five generations of families that still eat in our restaurant.”
Chris Chambers, who, with wife Ann Marie Chambers of South Strabane, have attended and hosted a variety of family events there for at least three decades.
“They are just an all-around good restaurant and a staple here in Washington,” Chambers says. “It is a real credit to the family, food and service they provide.”
Three generations of the family of Rob Andy of Washington have been patronizing Angelo's. He first went as a child with his family and parents and now, for the past 40 years, with his wife, Amor. It was the first place they went as a teenage couple.
“Seventy-five years is an amazing achievement in this day and time,” Andy says. “A family business can be very difficult to run in the transition from one generation to the next. Michael made it happen.”
