A Gilroy Tradition for 25 years, Joe’s Italian Restaurant will
change hands soon
By Betsy Avelar Staff intern
Gilroy – The Bertolone family watched the community grow before their very eyes through the door of Joe’s Italian Restaurant for more than two decades. Now their eyes fill with tears when they think about selling the family-owned business and leaving the community for retirement within a year.
“I was working here since I was 10. I will be 36 next month,” said Sonia Bertolone, daughter of business owners Joe, 65, and Elvira Bertolone, 63. “It’s all I’ve ever known. It is its own little person (as if) it has its own little spirit,” said Sonia, tears in her eyes.
The restaurant sits near 10th and Church streets, and flanking the front entrance is a statue of a cook, holding a pizza over 25 years of hard work. The melodies of Italian music from the contemporary Il Divo welcome the customer and the warm golden light enhances the cozy smells of garlic, pizza, and ravioli sauce. Jars of peach and strawberry jams and jellies, cookies, and pickled jalapeños decorate the shelves. Dark bottles of wine stand side by side on the counters near poinsettia plants along with a miniature statue of King David from Italy. On the walls, sparkling Venetian masks and vintage opera posters entertain the eye. But the memorabilia that matter most to the family are the photographs of their customers and their families.
“It’s very hard. It’s like I’m losing a family member,” said Joe last week. Rumors about Joe’s retirement have swirled, but he and his wife are reluctant to speak about it.
In 1981, Ronald Reagan was President, Gilroy had just over 21,000 inhabitants, and the Bertolone family dove into the restaurant business. Joe and Elvira had help from all three children – Michael, 34, Mary, 28, and Sonia. Mary now lives in Birmingham, Ala., and Michael lives in Las Vegas. In 1992, the family moved to a larger location on First Street (now Mamma Mia’s) where they spent eight years. Then in 2000 the business moved back to the little place on Tenth Street where the family felt most comfortable.
“It was beautiful, beautiful,” began Elvira. “(The customers) would sing ‘La Bamba,’ everyone in the restaurant. Now, everything change.” Elvira recounted when Gilroy High had an open campus and they would regularly sell pizzas to the students. Now students are not allowed to go off campus for lunch. “There was nothing here when we moved to Gilroy. Gilroy High School was still South Valley.”
Although their customers fill them with happiness, they felt it was time to take a different turn in life.
“I’m the one who started to apply pressure to them to retire,” said their daughter Sonia. “I think if they were healthier, they would run that restaurant forever. They love it that much. If left to their own devices, they would never retire, ever.”
Sonia did most of the talking during the interview, her mother and father not eager to answer any questions about retirement.
” I created this place, I mean I feel it every day. (My customers) brought their kids, now their kids are married and they still come in,” said Joe as he looked at the photos on the wall.
Sandra Lauriello, 56, visited the restaurant in Gilroy.
“When I hear the name Bertolone it brings joy to my heart. I met the family when they visited Birmingham, Alabama, in 2003. They told me all about Gilroy and the wonderful Garlic Festival. They invited me to come and visit their town as a guest in their home. It was one of the happiest times of my life. You felt love, joy and one thing for sure, your stomach was always full of fabulous Italian cuisine,” said the Birmingham resident.
“They love that restaurant. They love their customers. My mom loves to cook. This will never change. It is going to be a tear-filled day when that restaurant changes hands. Both of my folks have spent 25 years of their lives working side by side within the confines of that little place. It has become one of their children. They’ve watched people grow up. They’ve attended weddings, and funerals of their customers whom have in turn become their friends. They’ve touched the lives of so many. That’s hard to let go,” said Sonia. Â
Margherita Brown, 44, is another customer who met the family a decade ago but now resides in Las Vegas. “You’re treated like family when you go there,” said Brown. “They worked very hard all of their life, and it would be a good thing for them to retire.”
One of their biggest fears is that the restaurant they built with their own hands would be taken over by someone who simply doesn’t care about the place as much as they do.
“Eventually it will be for sale. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that whoever comes along will be a family who loves this place as much as we have,” said Sonia.
Once the business is sold, the family will move to Alabama to stay close to their four grandchildren. In the future, they will take extended trips to their hometown in Italy.
Although the restaurant will change owners, Lauriello will always remember the family as “the essence of what love and family is.”
Betsy Avelar is an intern and attends Gavilan College, ba*****@************ch.com.
