Profiles

As you walk up to the gleaming new storefront on North Avenue in Galewood, a large automatic sliding door sweeps open and you hear, “Welcome to Serrelli’s. It’s our grand re-opening today.” And grand it truly is. For nearly 80 years, Serrelli’s Finer Foods has been a grand name in the industry that’s guaranteed to bring a smile. From the first grocery store that Louis Serrelli opened at Western and Huron in 1934, the Serrelli family has been all about great products and friendly service. “When my grandfather came over from Calabria in the 1930s, he had the philosophy that …

by Jim DiStasio, Joe Stella and Paul Basile Even though the Turano Baking Co. is one of the largest bread makers in the nation, its heart still beats with the warmth and generosity of a small family business. For the last half century, La Famiglia Turano has steadily built a world-class company firmly rooted in values that can be traced to its founder. Launched in a storefront shop in Chicago in 1962 by Mariano Turano, the company has blossomed under the stewardship of sons Renato, Tony and Giancarlo into a national powerhouse with more than 750 employees who create more …

The name Ciardelli is very well known in our ethnic community, and certainly in the legal community. Victor Ciardelli, now an elder and highly respected lawyer and statesman, has been a leading litigator for decades. This month we highlight the career and successes of his son, Victor. It seems lately that we are highlighting the careers of the children of our leading lights. I guess that old adage has merit: “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” Victor Ciardelli, CEO and founder of Guaranteed Rate, is an innovative entrepreneur who is revolutionizing the mortgage industry. After graduating from Columbia …

This month, we highlight the distinguished career of a rising star in the Chicagoland community, and a proud and contributing member of the Italian-American community, Emilia DiMenco. Although Emilia DiMenco has never owned a business, she has spent her entire professional career helping them grow. One of her most satisfying achievements was to lead BMO Harris N.A., as an executive vice president. There, she developed initiatives to support and empower women-owned businesses. In 2010, she became chief operating officer at the Women’s Business Development Center (WBDC) and was recently promoted to president and CEO of the 28-year-old organization, selected by …

The FIAT 500 has been popping up everywhere lately, and it’s turning heads wherever it goes. As agile and sexy as it is economical and eco-friendly, it may be the perfect city car. And it has that inimitable sense of style that every Italian possesses and every American craves. “You can buy something cheap and small for $16,000, or you can buy something that has Italian heritage and style,” says Carmelo Scalzo, vice president of FIAT of Chicago. “With the FIAT 500, you get the best of all worlds. It’s affordable, it’s great on gas and it has that special …

It’s not unusual to hear business owners boast that they’re the best. But it’s another matter entirely to prove it as Luigi and Anthony Scola have done — winning an award in June for the nation’s best CARSTAR auto repair franchise. “It was a real surprise when it happened,” says Luigi Scola, who co-owns CARSTAR Scola’s Collision Center in Brookfield with his brother Anthony. “We go to the CARSTAR conference every year, and there are 440 nationwide stores. It makes us feel very prestigious and very proud that we won it.” Franchisee of the Year is the highest award in …

When driving east on the Kennedy Expressway, it doesn’t take much to pass up Norridge without noticing it. A town of less than 15,000, Norridge was incorporated in 1948 and is almost completely surrounded by Chicago. It is a town made up largely of European immigrants, first- and second-generation Italians and Polish, hard-working people who take care of their families and each other. It might be easy to miss Norridge if you’re not looking for it, but there is no missing what has been happening on Lawrence Avenue just east of Cumberland Avenue for nearly 30 years. When Cumberland Chapels …

While divorce usually involves enlisting a lawyer, it need not descend into the kind of backbiting and mayhem often seen in Hollywood films (or Hollywood marriages for that matter). In fact, a few lawyers specialize in Collaborative law — a powerful, voluntary alternative to traditional divorce litigation where the parties and their attorneys work together as a team to achieve a fair outcome for all. “Although my firm does a significant amount of litigation, we are more oriented toward Collaborative law and alternative dispute resolution,” says Carol Di Giacomo of Di Giacomo & Somers L.L.C, a Northfield-based law firm that …

When Anthony DiBiase and Frank Cervone bought an existing elevator inspection business in 2002, little did they know they’d shoot straight to the top floor of their field. Today Elevator Inspection Services Co., Inc. in Burr Ridge handles a combined 8,000 inspections a year in Chicago and the surrounding municipalities. To put it in perspective, that’s an average of 22 elevators a day, with the safety of millions riding on the work these men and their team do, day in and day out. “In the past 11 years, we have grown the business by 75 percent,” says DiBiase, whose parents …

As Baby Boomers move into their senior years, and families prepare for the road ahead, there’s too often a tragic disconnect between the planning they do and the planning they need. As an attorney who specializes in elder law, and a CPA with a master’s degree in taxation, Anthony B. Ferraro of Rosemont says that the best of intentions don’t necessarily add up to the most sound of strategies. “We deal not only with what happens when you pass away, but what happens when you don’t,” says Ferraro, who has spent nearly four decades helping his clients prepare for all …