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The wait is over: Nelson County has been abuzz over the coming of Vito’s Ristorante Italiano & Pizzeria, owned by Sal Mannino, for about two years. Vito’s officially opened on January 3. |
There’s big news in Nellysford this month. Considering that the place has less total eateries than Charlottesville has gourmet gas stations, the opening of a new restaurant there is cause for much media blitz. Nelson County Life, for one, has been following the coming of Vito’s Ristorante Italiano & Pizzeria to the old home of Grill 151 (and before that Rockfish River Grill and before that Truslow’s Restaurant) for about two years, and now that Vito’s officially opened on January 3, we’re hopeful NCL can turn to more pressing matters, like what this terribly soggy ski season at Wintergreen says about global warming.
We, however, have not covered the Vito’s story at all, so we stopped in last week to find out what the big deal is. After hauling our ass up Rockfish Valley Highway, we were quite worried to discover that other than a fresh new Vito’s sign out front, the exterior of the building is still rough and in mid-renovation. Inside, however, we found a quaint dining room, Old World-style brickwork around the kitchen and bar area, and the welcome smell of garlic, fresh bread and fresh paint. Ah.
Owner Sal Mannino, who also owns a Vito’s in Lovingston, had to gut the building, which is why the new Vito’s took so long to open.
“I had to start over with everything,” says Mannino. “The plumbing was really bad. The bathrooms were bad. It’s very important for them to be clean. You can tell from the bathroom what the kitchen will be like.”
Well, Restaurantarama can assure you that Vito’s bathrooms have new tile floors and paint, and lovely images of Southern Italy adorning the walls. As for the kitchen, we didn’t take a tour, but we can tell you that it’s producing an extensive selection of rustic, Southern Italy-inspired pasta dishes, strombolis, calzones, and classic and specialty pizzas, as well as more Americanized fare, such as charbroiled steaks and fried shrimp and oysters. An ABC license is pending for a beer and wine list, as well as for a retail wine shop out of the restaurant.
Mannino, who hails from Sicily, has been in the restaurant business “forever,” he says. He worked his way up from dishwasher in his uncle’s Sicilian restaurant, before moving to the U.S. about 30 years ago. He was in the restaurant biz in Boston for 15 years before opening the first Vito’s in Lovingston 10 years ago.
With his authentic Italian roots, we wondered if the name “Vito’s” has significance—maybe it’s the name of Mannino’s great-grandfather who came to Ellis Island with only the shirt on his back and a dream to make it in America?
“It was my former partner’s name. I just kept it,” says Mannino.
Oh, well, that makes sense too.
For sale or not for sale?
That is the question. The eternal question that occupies most of Restaurantarama’s time these days. This week, the question pertains specifically to Splendora’s Gelato. We’ve been hearing rumors that the business and building are for sale, but of course, confirming or dispelling a sale rumor is a never an easy task until the ink on a deal is dry. So here’s what we can tell you: There’s no listing for the business or the building on the website of the Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors (CAAR), and co-owner (with her husband) Andrea Ayres tells us this, “It’s for sale only as much as anything is for sale, but we love it and we love being part of the Downtown Mall. In fact, we just started up our all-you-can-eat special for Wednesdays in January again.” That’s $5 for all the gelato you can stuff in your faces on hump day, people. If that’s not enough to satisfy you, then here for your information are two restaurants that clearly are listed for sale by name on CAAR.com: Just Curry and Martha’s Café.
