Fra Noi Embrace Your Inner Italian
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and County Commissioner Peter Silvestri recently presented Edward Lezza, Jr. with a resolution honoring the 113-year history of Lezza Spumoni & Desserts. The resolution reads:
Whereas, the origin of Lezza’s famous spumoni is in Naples, Italy; and the recipe came to Chicago’s West Side with Salvatore Lezza in 1905; and
Whereas, Salvatore Lezza handed the secret of genuine spumoni down to his son Victor; and
Whereas, Lezza’s spumoni is made up of four flavors of ice cream — chocolate, strawberry, rum, and pistachio — with a whipped cream center studded with candied fruit and wheat germ bits (taking the place of chopped cashews, the rare change in deference to nut allergies); and
Whereas, after the first sixty years of Lezza’s being in business on Taylor and Halsted in Chicago, the development of the University of Illinois Chicago campus prompted the Lezzas to move the business to Bellwood, where it currently runs its wholesale operation; and.
Whereas, today, three generations of the Lezza family—the founder’s grandsons Victor Jr., Edward, and Jack, their mother Rosemarie, and great-grandsons Louis and Eddie—successfully run the company with the same old-world flair; and
Whereas, Lezza’s retail location is in Elmhurst and has greatly expanded its offerings to include cakes, thirteen types of cookies, specialty desserts, and Italian ices; and
Whereas, hundreds of recipes have been preserved and perfected, keeping the Lezza tradition alive and flourishing. Quality is the key characteristic of Lezza Spumoni & Desserts and is apparent in every product they create.
Now, therefore, be it resolved, that the Cook County Board of Commissioners does hereby honor Lezza Spumoni & Desserts for its 113-year history and tradition; and
Be it further resolved, that a suitable copy of this resolution be tendered to the Lezza family.
