Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Tony Pietoso
Tony Pietoso
Tony Pietoso was a star soccer player, a hair stylist, and a waiter at John Mineo’s, but most St. Louisans know him as the gray-maned boniface of Café Napoli, the landmark Clayton Italian restaurant with arguably the best see-and-be-seen corner patio in town. With the help of his sons, Kye and Ande, Pietoso has opened Bar Napoli, Napoli 2, Napoli III, and in early June, Napoli Sea at the Streets of St. Charles. Later this year or early next, the Napoli count will increase again.
When did you immigrate to the United States? I was in four orphanages in Italy, from ages 5 to 16, before I moved to this country. The last was in Florence. In 1970, the director of the orphanage came to the States to finish college in Chicago. He thought there might be some opportunity for me to play soccer here and make some money, so I came to visit.
So did you go to school in the U.S.? He got transferred to Lutheran North High School here, and I went with him, a kid from Italy who spoke no English. I agreed to stay and play soccer if I could learn English. The teachers took turns tutoring me one-on-one, and I played soccer for Lutheran North. I played at Florissant Valley Community College, and we ended up winning the nationals in 1973. Had I not blown out my knees, I would have tried to become a professional soccer player. Instead, I became a hair stylist…and worked at a place at Ballas and Olive.
That career path didn’t last long? In 1978, I went back to Italy but moved back after a few months. I had no car, no apartment, and I’d given away all my hair clients, so I became a waiter at John Mineo’s restaurant. I enjoyed it, and I was good at it. I got married in 1980, had two sons, and in 1989, a few relatives and me decided to open the first Café Napoli, a little downstairs trattoria with skylights and red-checked tablecloths, at 10 South Bemiston, the former Copenhagen restaurant, across the street from where Napoli is now.
In retrospect, I guess that worked out for you.The worst advice I was ever given was that a lawyer told me not to go there. The best advice came from Ben Fixman, who I’d asked to be my partner. He said to do it on my own—he said that you should do this—and if I got into trouble, then he’d help me out.
When did you move Napoli to the corner of Bemiston and Forsyth? The county needed our building for a parking lot. I negotiated for the 2,500-square-feet space across the street that became the second Café Napoli. When The Limited moved out next door to us, [that space] became Bar Napoli, which my sons ran. Combined with the patio, the corner complex became very popular and still is. Then when the jewelry store behind Bar Nap moved out, we were offered that space, too, and originally planned to do a piano bar, serving high-end wines by the glass. But when we saw how much money it was making just as a spillover bar for Bar Nap and it could also be a private, reservable space with its own entrance and its own bar, we abandoned the piano bar idea. It’s the perfect space to throw a party for 30 to 40 people.
The one-two punch of Café Napoli and Bar Napoli has to be one of the biggest and longest running restaurant success stories in town. I remember an attorney cautioning me before the Bar Napoli deal saying that bars are trendy and busy for awhile and then they fade away. Twenty years later, he comes back to me and says, Do you remember what I said to you years ago about bars being trendy? I am sorry. I was so wrong. This place is busier than ever.
Describe Napoli’s food. Classic, Southern Italian food, and a lot more fresh fish than I ever thought we’d serve, which is why we serve cioppino and it’s so full of fish. I can barely keep enough Chilean sea bass in the house. It might be the best seller, along with the veal chop, which we serve two ways: vino rosso, which is a grilled 16- to 18-ounce Provimi veal chop with porcini mushrooms and burgundy sauce. And the other is Valdostana-style, the same chop flattened, breaded, and baked with prosciutto, fontina cheese, and marsala sauce. The sea bass we serve here is “Tony-style,” which is sautéed, finished in the oven, and served on a bed of spinach, with a lemon, caper, white wine, and butter sauce.
Do you still display the day’s steaks and chops to the customers on a platter? No. After the pandemic, people were more sensitive about frequently touched surfaces, so we did away with it. That detail was getting dated anyway, plus it’s one less step for the servers.
What’s your favorite item on the menu? Linguine with clam sauce. Oh, and the liver and onions we serve with a sweet and sour onion sauce. People come from far away to order that dish.
Café Napoli has had the magic touch for years. What makes the place so popular? It’s very simple: I’m here, and I care. People know I care. My kids are present, and they care. That filters down to my staff. They care. People come here to dine and to have a good experience. With that in mind, we approach everyone in the exact same way. In a place like Café Napoli, it’s important for people to be greeted by name and to be recognized. In my home, you are treated like royalty. The same goes for my restaurants. Part of that is never saying no.
What’s your favorite item on the menu? Linguine with clam sauce. Oh, and the liver and onions. People come from far away to order that dish.
How would you describe your management style? I’m an old-fashioned, old-school guy, who, I think, sends a message to my employees: Those who get the message get somewhere; the people who don’t won’t get anywhere. And I’m not just talking about Napoli—I’m talking about life in general. I try to teach discipline, responsibility, kindness, compassion…the importance of giving back. It has gotten more frustrating lately because fewer people seem to be grasping that message. But my approach hasn’t changed. I’ll do anything for my employees. That’s what you do when you say you treat employees like family.
Talk about your lapel pin. Thirty years ago, my now ex-wife bought me a pin in the shape of a corkscrew. I got compliments on it, started to wear it all the time, and bought a few more. One day, it began to have a significance. When I faced the screw part down, the staff was doing a good job. When the screw was up, they knew they were screwing up, so they better snap back into line. I think I have a pin on every jacket, so I never have to switch them out.
Café Napoli has attracted its share of celebrities and sports figures over the years. We did and still do, but it’s different than it used to be. Years ago, those people wanted privacy, to be isolated in private rooms. Now everybody doesn’t mind being seen, in my opinion, maybe wants to be seen. They don’t mind being seated in the restaurant or outside on the patio.
How and why did Napoli 2 start? I had a strong staff at Napoli, including two sons, so it was time to consider another restaurant. In 2008, Town & Country Crossing was just being built, so we got to pick our location. Chef Jon Berger, who had been in Clayton, introduced some items out there, like lasagna, which we didn’t have in Clayton, as well as fresh pasta, which is still made in that kitchen every day. All of the entrée pasta at Napoli 2 is fresh; same at Napoli III. Café Napoli is the only location that uses only dried pasta. That’s what we started with there. There’s no reason to mess with that success.
When and why did Napoli III come about? My son Kye asked me to come look at the Streets of St. Charles development. We would be the only Italian restaurant out there, one of few finer-dining restaurants out there. The development was booming, and the demographics were through the roof. I said, “When do you want to start construction?” It’s more contemporary and a little more casual than the other locations, and it’s busy…open for lunch and dinner seven days a week. It was so busy immediately, we joked that we needed to open another restaurant, which we ended up doing.
Napoli Sea. Exactly. We were selling so much seafood at Napoli III that we knew the market was there, especially since there were no seafood restaurants at Streets of St. Charles, so we thought opening a seafood place was obvious. Then the space next door became available. Chef Jon Berger, who oversees all of the restaurants, designed a relatively small menu, which is a good idea when dealing with a lot of fresh fish.
Talk about the space and the menu. The first thing you see is that the “O” in the Napoli logo is a diver’s helmet. At the 2o0seat bar, a brass and bronze version anchors the draft system. Four stacked TV monitors show waterfalls and elements of the sea, which guests seated on the mezzanine level can also see. Besides catch of the day items, you’ll see things like charred octopus, a seafood roll, ceviche, and caviar. We’ll have several steaks, too, plus a rotating pasta, like squid ink linguine with seafood. We hope to be open in late May or early June.
You have other projects in the works as well. There is a Napoli IV that’s planned but not finalized—it will be the biggest and most dramatic Napoli to date—and also another smaller, more casual restaurant in another part of town, a pizza and pasta, family-oriented concept that may be the future for us. [Laughs.] Hey, I have grandchildren, so we need to keep going, to keep thinking toward the future.
Did you ever have any restaurant mentors? John Mineo, Sr. took me under his wing and taught me everything he knew—he knew how to make people feel very special. Six months later, I knew that’s what I wanted to do, that restaurant work was my niche. I realized that’s what I was born to do. I stayed at John Mineo’s for 10 years.
How pivotal are your sons in running the Napoli empire? Without my sons, who knows? I might have been happy just being in Clayton. They have the charisma, the talent, the desire, and the stamina to take all of us so much further. My ex-wife was a big part of all our success, and I’m willing to help my sons out any way I can. We might have four or five locations by the end of this year—and who knows how many more after that? I’m 71 and still have a passion for this restaurant thing. I enjoy what I do, and I do what I enjoy.
