Il Camino Italian Restaurant in Leominster has been serving nonni’s sauce for 50 a long time
LEOMINSTER — Louis Daigneault was 7 a long time previous when he discovered how to bread veal on top rated of tomato bins in the cozy kitchen area of Il Camino Italian Restaurant, and his older brother, Rick, was 12 when he and their other siblings were being qualified in creating handmade pasta.
“We ended up good at cracking eggs,” Rick Daigneault recalled past week.
In 1970, the Daigneaults’ mother and father, Jack and Frances (Ciccolini), bought the Italian restaurant on 555 Central St. from Attilio and Ilda Antonioni. After a quick interval of changeover, Il Camino opened below the Daigneaults’ possession on Jan. 2, 1971, and has been a town staple given that.
For the previous 10 months, the cafe has endured the worries of COVID-19, and this past weekend, the family proudly marked 50 a long time in business.
Over 5 many years, the Daigneaults have welcomed their faithful company in a welcoming and acquainted environment with longtime and committed personnel, while satiating consumers with traditional Italian favorites.
The red sauce served atop the do-it-yourself spaghetti and hen parmigiana is the recipe the Daigneaults’ nonni, Lucy Ciccolini, brought with her from Italy and lovingly passed down to her grandchildren.
The menu capabilities lots of of Lucy’s first recipes, as perfectly as the extremely well-known rooster piccata that Chris Daigneault, a different of Rick’s and Louis’ brothers, modified from a relatives recipe.
Louis’ favorite menu merchandise, not incredibly, is the veal cutlet parmigiana, “with a facet of selfmade broad noodles,” he claimed.
The meatballs and homemade Italian salad dressing are also tasty.
By means of the decades, not a lot has altered in Il Camino’s homey placing, a fitting topic presented it’s name, which translates to, “the fire.” The restaurant began accepting credit playing cards in 2007. The kitchen area and storage space were expanded, and several gluten-absolutely free merchandise have been included to the menu.
As chain eating places have sprouted up in the region, consistency and loyalty have sustained Il Camino. Prospects know what they will get, they adore it, and they continue to keep returning.
“It’s the similar meals, my grandmother’s recipes and the very same spouse and children environment,” Rick explained. “People comprehend this is a spouse and children cafe it is not connoisseur. When we initial opened, community families really, actually supported us. At the finish of every meal, kids get a Hershey bar and then those people little ones grow up and come back again and their kids get a Hershey bar, and it is a positive domino effect of family members coming back and coming again.
“Our employees are faithful. Everyone gets what it can take to run a relatives business enterprise.”
The 6 Daigneault siblings, Jack, Rick, Chris, Tom, Louis and Maryellen, all labored at Il Camino as little ones. Chris and Louis have labored at the restaurant full time for pretty much 40 several years.
Rick, Tom and Maryellen proceed to assistance out as “weekend warriors.” Their dad, now 87, stepped back from the whole-time procedure about two or 3 decades ago, Rick reported. Their mother passed away in 1982 at age 48.
For the duration of lunch time previous Tuesday, a handful of patrons popped in to decide on up to-go orders at Il Camino, which shifted back to takeout only when the state limited cafe capacity to 25% on Dec. 26.
“Takeout has saved us,” Rick claimed.
“Il Camino” indicates fire in Italian and the restaurant’s first is the focal issue of the most important dining place, which is generally filled with hungry customers, specially on bustling Friday and Saturday nights, but was of course empty last Tuesday afternoon. Il Camino can seat 120 folks, Rick reported.
In the smaller eating area, recognised as the Green Area, chairs were stacked off to the aspect. Il Camino also has a lounge.
“On weekends just before COVID, we commonly had 5 cooks,” Louis reported, “and servers operating back and forth between the kitchen area and dining room with all these various dishes.”
Rick mentioned company is down 20- to 30% around the previous calendar year. The restaurant’s catering enterprise and reward card product sales have specially suffered, and, devoid of dine-in, employees, regretably, has been scaled again.
“We went by means of a roller coaster due to the fact COVID hit,” Rick explained.
But Il Camino has persevered.
Due to COVID limitations, the Daigneaults weren’t ready to host a golden anniversary celebration at Il Camino this weekend, but at 1 p.m. Jan. 11, Leominster mayor Dean J. Mazzarella is stopping by the restaurant for a special proclamation, and Il Camino will commemorate its milestone with 50th anniversary glassware, mugs and T-shirts.
Each 50th customer will get their alternative of an item.
“Chris and I have been operating below endlessly, but I cannot believe that it’s 50 several years,” Louis reported. “You think of all the individuals who have been below and all the persons who are gone, however.”
