Tuesday, March 3, 2020

RONDINI'S RESTAURANT


RONDINI’S RESTAURANT




My family’s favorite restaurant, when I was growing up in East Cleveland during the 1940s and 50s, was Rondini’s Italian Restaurant.  Rondini’s was located on the South side of Euclid Avenue near Coit Road.  It was a real treat to go there for a special family night out.  I loved the spaghetti with meat balls and parmesan cheese and Italian bread with lots of butter.  We couldn’t afford to eat out frequently so Dad often picked up spaghetti and meat balls to go.  It was good at home but going to the restaurant was really special.


As I’ve written in previous postings, the shopping area on Euclid Avenue between Taylor Road and Coit Road was the center of our shopping life.  We could easily walk there from our home on Shaw Avenue and Plymouth Place.  I often went on errands to pick up things we needed there.  After the war in 1945 we had a car and would drive up there when the whole family was going or we had a lot of things to buy.    

During the 1940s and 50s some of the stores in the area included:  grocery stores, drug stores, a barber shop, two bars, Berniers Radio and Record Store, Hann Heating, Hoffman Ice Cream Store, Jack’s Donuts, and Rondini’s Restaurant.




Rondini’s was a family business.  At that time two Rondini brothers were in charge and one of them was always there to greet customers.  Both of those Rondini brothers had sons, who were my classmates at Prospect School, Kirk, and Shaw.  The son’s names were Ronald and Arthur Rondini.  Ronald loved to sing and was a frequent cast member on the Gene Carroll amateur hour on local television.  Unfortunately Ronald died young and wasn’t able to pursue his show business career. 


Arthur was involved in the family business from a young age and went on to become an Executive Chef at area restaurants including the Blue Grass on Northfield Road and the Tangier Restaurant in Akron. He and his family now live in Canton, Ohio. In a recent series of interviews, I asked Arthur to tell me the history of Rondini’s Restaurant and his part in that history.  What follows is based upon those interviews. 


My friend, Arthur Rondini, was named after his Grandfather, Artuto Rondini, whose name was Americanized to Arthur.  Artuto was a top chef in Italy, who immigrated to America early in the 20th century. He first moved to Pennsylvania and later came to Cleveland where he had family including Chef Hector Boiardi.  After years working for others, Artuto decided he wanted a place of his own.  So he opened a small diner at 15500 Euclid Avenue in East Cleveland in 1935. 

 

Because he didn’t speak good English, Artuto was having trouble developing his business.  At that time Artuto’s sons joined the business.  First to join was Arthur’s Father, Leo.  Leo’s name in Italian was Primo, which means he was the first son.  Leo quit his job as a bartender to help his Dad run the business. As the business grew and expanded, Leo was followed by his brothers Russell, also a chef, and John, a business man.  These Rondini brothers helped their father expand the small diner into one of the top Italian restaurants in Cleveland.  From 1940 to 1956 the little diner added space in stages until it had four dining rooms, a lounge bar and a state of the art kitchen, the largest in Cleveland.


 Here is a picture of Artuto and his three sons in the new state of the art kitchen at Rondini's Restaurant. From left to right they are Leo, Russel, Artuto and John Rondini.





My friend, Arthur, joined the business in 1950, when he and I were both 10 years old.  That was the beginning of Arthur’s career.  While I was playing baseball, Arthur was working with his grandfather before and after school and, of course, all summer. Arthur told me the following about his early days in the restaurant. “Daily we would cook 50 gallons of  Rondini's meat sauce, 20 gallons of marinara, 120 lbs. of spaghetti, 120 lbs. of meatballs, 40 lbs. of mushrooms, and 40 lbs. of Italian sausage. We also made homemade ravioli (meat & cheese).”



Arthur and I graduated from Shaw High School in 1958.  At that time I didn’t have a clear idea of what I wanted to do in my life.  Arthur, on the other hand, had begun his career eight years earlier in his family’s Restaurant.  He went to John Carroll University, where he learned about the business side of running a restaurant.



Arthur helped out at Rondini’s, when he wasn’t away at college, until his father, Leo, died in 1962 at the age of 49.  By that time Rondini’s had reached its peak of growth and success and Arthur’s Uncles continued to run it.  In 1969 tragedy struck in the form of a fire.  The restaurant was a total loss.  At that time there was some discussion about how to continue.  The Uncles had the option of using the insurance money to rebuild the restaurant in its former place or move to another location.  It was decided to rebuild at Euclid and Coit.  As happens in these cases, the building cost more to replace than the insurance settlement.  In spite of that the Uncles were able to reopen in a new building.  The restaurant survived for a while but by about 1980 the business had become unsuccessful and Rondini’s was no more.  The building still stands as Tucker’s Casino, which recently celebrated 40 years in that location.




 ARTHUR RONDINI EXECUTIVE CHEF


Arthur’s amazing career was just beginning as Rondini’s was in its decline.  He knew exactly what he wanted to do and set out to accomplish it.  His first job after leaving Rondini’s was at the Sommerset Hotel in Shaker Heights where he was an apprentice chef.  His boss there was the manager, Billy Wineberg.  Billy left the Sommerset when he was selected as the manager of the new Caesars’ Palace Casino in Las Vegas.  Billy offered to take Arthur with him.  After talking it over with his wife, Arthur decided to turn down that opportunity and stay in Cleveland.


Arthur had the idea that he would get the experience he needed working for Country Clubs.  He explained to me that it was hard to break in to those organizations.  The club managers hired a chef, who brought in his full team of employees.  When a chef left he usually took all the staff with him.  When Arthur approached the chef at the Shaker Heights Country Club, he was told that there were no positions available.  Not to be deterred, Arthur proposed that he would work on Sundays free just to get the experience.  On the third Sunday the chef came to Arthur with an envelope containing a check.  “I thought I was doing this for free,” Arthur told the chef.  The chef responded that he had been impressed by the fact that Arthur worked harder and got more done than most of his regular employees.



After working for several country clubs, Arthur decided he was ready to become a chef himself.  He applied to the Blue Grass Hotel for their open position for an Executive Chef.  The manager asked him how much experience he had.  Arthur responded, “14 years”.  “How could you have that much experience? You are only 24 years old”, the manager said.  Arthur then explained about working at the family restaurant since he was ten. Well, he got the job and became an Executive Chef at the age of 24.  He was at the Blue Grass for 8 years and the manager said that he hired him just to see if it was true that he had 14 years of experience.



Arthur’s next big restaurant experience was at the Tangier Restaurant in Akron.  This was a big and successful venue featuring dining, catering, weddings, banquets, and entertainment.  As Executive Chef, Arthur was responsible for all the food services.  This seems like a lot of responsibility and it was.  However, Arthur told me that in some ways it was easier than some of his country club jobs.  At the Tangier he had six assistants, who were responsible for different aspects of the work.  At other jobs he would directly manage over 30 people. 



After leaving the Tangier, Arthur worked as Executive Chef for several country clubs in the Akron/Canton area and as a consultant to others.  He is 80 years old now and ostensibly retired.  However people still come to him for advice and help from time to time.  He lives in the Canton area with his wife of 60 years, Carol.  His long and successful career in the food service business is a tribute to his family and the family business, Rondini’s Italian Restaurant in East Cleveland, Ohio.


Epilogue

I wrote this essay in 2020.  It was a great experience working with my friend Art Rondini and I learned a great deal about the restaurant, which was so important to me and others who grew up in East Cleveland back in the 1940s and 1950s.  More importantly I was able to write about Art's life and great career as an Executive Chef.

Sadly I learned that Arthur Rondini has passed away since the above essay was written. That fact makes it all the more satisfying that I was able to capture this great and important life story.  Many of you have responded to this essay and your comments  also are a testimony to Art and his family.  RIP.



28 comments:

  1. I am a Bernier and my Grandfather Bernier owned the shop on Euclid. My dad Jim along with his brothers John and Dick worked there along with my mom.

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  2. Thanks for commenting. I remember the Bernier store well. They sold radios, record players and records. I would love to write more about the business and the folks who owned it. If you would like to help me with that, contact me at rcd2@cwru.edu.

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  3. I worked for John Rondini in 69-70 during my senior year at Shaw cleaning up fire damage in the back area of the restaurant - but you say the fire was in 65?

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    1. I too worked there helping to clean up after the fire. I recall it happened during the Winter of 68-69.

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  4. Dan Billington, Thanks for your comment. I went back to my notes from my interview with Arthur Rondini and entered a correction to the date of the fire. I would love to hear more about your experience at Rondini's. You can email me at rcd2@cwru.edu.

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  5. Rondini's was very much a family business. My dad, Jimmy Cordaro was a chef there for many years, and Leo was my uncle, Arthur was a first cousin. Not only did I grow up there, I had all kinds of relatives who worked there at one time or another, and we were all very close growing up. I have wonderful memories of those years.

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  6. Rick Cordaro: Thanks for reading my blog and sharing your memories of Rondini's. I have fond memories of that restaurant and I knew both Arthur and Ronnie through our attendance in the East Cleveland schools. Arthur contributed to my post and I was happy to renew our friendship in the process. Did you graduate from Shaw? What year?

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    1. No, we moved to South Euclid when I was still going to Rozelle. So none of us went to high school there.

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  7. I don't know why Rondini's popped into my head today. I was a boy when my family would go there;we're talking 70 years ago. I loved the pasta, meatballs, and the spumoni was a special treat. Thanks for the memories.

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  8. Thanks for reading and commenting on my blog. I have forwarded your comment to my friend Art Rondini. I think his family are happy that so many people still have fond memories of their restaurant.

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  9. I had occasion to work 15 feet from Art at Tangier, working the kitchen service bar. He commanded the wait-staff like an orchestra conductor and pushed out PERFECTLY cooked food to the dining room WHILE supervising the banquet food staff. A TRUE professional!

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  10. This brings back great memories of growing up in East Cleveland. James Parker

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  11. I worked with Art at the Blie Grass for several years

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  12. I appreciate this information immensely. I have a photo album full of pictures from this restaurant and I’ve been trying to piece together the past. My great grandmother was married to Russell and I’m trying to put the puzzle together as to how it all fits with these amazing pictures. As soon as I saw the picture above, I knew I was on the right track. Thank you for this.

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  13. Russell Rondini is my grandfather. I am Sam’s daughter Sarah. I was only a toddler when I went to the restaurant. I enjoyed your comments about the family and restaurant. Thank you!

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  14. Does anybody remember the rum cake ?

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  15. When I was growing up ⬆️ n the 50’s, Rondini’s was my very favorite restaurant! Their spaghetti and meatballs were fabulous! It was the ultimate treat! Our family has wonderful memories of Rondini’s. Later on, when I was married and pregnant with our first child, what I craved was Rindini’s! ❤️

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  16. What a great memory of a great restaurant that my family frequently dined at or our Mother brought Rhondini's spaghetti and meatballs home after working downtown for dinner for us to enjoy. The best I have ever had to this day. Sad they no longer have a restaurant for others to enjoy their great food!

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  17. Hello again Bob. Reading this reminded me of our MANY departed friends. Great memories. Thank you. James Parker

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  18. The stores on Euclid between Coit & Taylor was my world as a kid in the 50s. Tobin Drug Store/Woolworth (Hahn Heating)/Fisher Grocery Store/Jacks Donuts-all the best! Family went to Rondini’s on special occasions. I actually shined shoes for tips at Rondini’s when I wasn’t delivering The Press on Taylor Rd, & Coit North of Euclid. Those were the days!!

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  19. I worked at the Blue Grass for 9 years, many of those with Art. The staff there was like a family. I stayed in the food business for over 40 years. Fond memories except for the day I had just opened the back door to let the early staff in when a lawyer with papers to turn over the keys and everyone had to leave. The Blue Grass was no more.

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  20. Are there recipes for their sauce and meatballs ? Our family still craves Rondini’s

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  21. Mary Kay Roediger, I know my friend Art Rondini knew the recipe well. Unfortunately he passed away recently and I don't know of anywhere it is written down. We can just enjoy it in our memories.

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  22. We lived just off Euclid and would go to Rondini’s to get spaghetti to go! I believe I remember that there was a small trailer just down the sidewalk, that you could step in and watch model trains running in a glass enclosed window.

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  23. This is my family. My Mom working here, met my Dad Samuel J Rondini here. ♥️

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  24. Apprenticed under Chef Rondini in the early 90's at CLC. The most amazing Chef to work for. He gave me a chance of a lifetime. I owe my entire career to him. He was like a father figure to our merry band of misfits. Eat well. Be well.

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  25. I wonder if anyone would be able to speak to the Rondini family about the recipe for spaghetti and meatballs? I know my family has certain recipes that we’ve treasured all the more as generations have passed away. My dad remembers Rondini’s spaghetti as the best meal he’s ever had. He’s now 75 and I’d love to find a way for him to have it again. ❤️

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  26. I know my friend Art Rondini knew the recipe, since he began making it in 1950 when he was 10 years old. I don't think there is anyone who could market that recipe now that Art has passed away. That is unfortunate because I know that other sauce recipes from old restaurants were sold locally long after the restaurant went out of business. Wouldn't it be wonderful to go Giant Eagle and buy a bottle of Rondini's sauce.

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