Some restaurants feed you. Others become part of your family. Salvatore Ristorante Italiano, part of Roosevelt since 1988, has spent 37 years doing the latter.
Chef-owner Salvatore Anania was born in Stigliano, a small town in the southern Italian region of Basilicata. As a kid, he wasn’t taught to cook — or even allowed in the kitchen. The kitchen belonged to his mother, Aurelia, and while Salvatore is quick to note he still can’t quite match her sauces, it was she who inspired his love of cooking.
When Salvatore came to America, he saw an opportunity to bring something more authentic to the Italian food scene. He worked his way through the Seattle restaurant scene, and though his English was still rough in those days, his vision was clear. The week before Valentine’s Day in 1988, he opened the doors to Salvatore Ristorante Italiano on Roosevelt Way.
He was one of the first neighborhood Italian restaurants in the area, at a time when this part of town had a handful of Italian spots and plenty of loyalty to go around. Back then, Friday nights were electric — 180, sometimes 200 dinners a night, with lines out the door and waits of an hour and a half. Thirty-seven years later, while the restaurant landscape has changed dramatically, Salvatore is still here. Still greeting tables. Still recommending wines by asking for your price range (he says he hasn’t missed yet).
What’s kept people coming back? Salvatore is thoughtful about it. The food has to be consistent — his pappardelle with wild boar, the puttanesca (my personal favorite!), a simple spaghetti aglio e olio with anchovies — cooked the same way every time. But he’ll tell you quality and consistency alone won’t do it. “The food would not be enough,” he says. “People want to be recognized when they come in.”
That points to the other thing Salvatore loves about his work, beyond creating great meals: connecting with people. That’s a big part of why people keep coming back. The result is a restaurant where generations have marked their lives. Regulars who came in as toddlers now bring their own children. Engagements have been proposed across his tables and anniversaries celebrated, year after year. All four of his children have worked here at some point — it’s been a true family business in every sense.
Of course, running a restaurant for so long has its challenges — finding great staff, rising food costs, the loss of customer parking on Roosevelt in recent years, and, like neighboring businesses, occasional break-ins and crime. But after everything he’s seen, Salvatore remains a proud fan of this neighborhood. Let’s hope we have him here for many more years, greeting customers and keeping a watchful eye on that kitchen of his.
Salvatore Ristorante Italiano is located at 6100 Roosevelt Way NE. For hours, menu, and a list of premade meals you can heat up at home, visit:
salvatoreristoranteitaliano.com
For takeout, give them a call at (206) 527-9301.
Each month, the Roosevelt Neighborhood Association’s Business of the Month recognizes a neighborhood business for their great service and community involvement. To learn more, please email contact@rooseveltseattle.org.