As authentic as the Italian cuisine served at his one-time iconic Gilroy restaurant, Giuseppe “Joe” Bertolone passed away Tuesday in Alabaster, Ala., where he helped start up another family-run eatery by the same name: Joe’s Italian Restaurant.
According to the restaurant’s Facebook page, which is flooded with heartfelt messages from faithful patrons who got to know the man and love the Italian delicacies he served, there will be a memorial service on March 12 at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church in Montevallo, Ala.
The Bertolone Family responded to their followers with the message: “With heavy hearts, we regret to inform you that papa Joe has passed. We will keep you all informed once we have more information regarding arrangements. Thank you for all your love and support.”
From the Garlic Capital of the World, where Bertolone and his wife Elvira first opened their quaint restaurant on 10th Street in 1981, to the deep south of Shelby County, Ala., hungry residents in search of a little taste of Italy knew the best place to go. Joe and his wife emigrated from Italy in 1977.
The jovial owner apparently stopped breathing at his Alabaster restaurant and was transported to the Shelby Baptist Medical Center emergency room on March 6, according to a report from the Shelby County Reporter. The local Fox affiliate WBRC stated Bertolone suffered a major heart attack at the restaurant.
With his wife and three children, Michael, Mary and Sonia, working alongside him, Bertolone watched his Gilroy business grow with a welcoming smile to all his clientele for more than a decade at the original storefront in the lot adjacent to the 7-Eleven on 10th street in Gilroy.
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 10th Street, where the family felt most comfortable.
“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 Bertolone to The Dispatch as he looked at the photos on the wall back in September of 2005.
The Bertolones sold the restaurant in 2007 and moved to Shelby County, Alabama to be closer to their two daughters.
