Fra Noi Embrace Your Inner Italian
After 42 years, Tony Spavone’s Ristorante in Bloomingdale has changed ownership, although it might not be apparent to customers.
New owners Dan and Teresa Williams, who live in nearby Wood Dale, bought the eatery at 266 W. Lake St. from founder Tony Spavone in late October. However, Spavone remains actively involved in the running of the restaurant, which has helped tremendously with the transition, Dan Williams explained. “It’s been a great partnership,” Williams said.
Born in Naples, Spavone came to the U.S. as a boy and learned to cook at 13 while working in his father’s Chicago restaurant, Seven Hills, the Daily Herald reported in 2015. He opened his supper club-style restaurant in 1984 and over time built up a faithful clientele, seeing “more than a few customers start out in high chairs, move up to wedding rehearsal dinners and return for baby showers.”
The restaurant also offers entertainment, including from Spavone himself, a classically trained singer who belts out tunes from Sinatra and Italian classics to opera and rock ’n’ roll. Spavone has performed with Paul Anka, Vicki Carr, Sergio Franchi and Curtis Mayfield, just to name a few, according to the Daily Herald.
Dan Williams said he and his wife decided on the new venture after he sold his engineering consulting company. Having dined a couple of times at Tony Spavone’s, and with Spavone wanting to scale back his workload, the Bloomingdale mainstay was the perfect investment opportunity, Dan Williams said. For more, click here.
