[StBernard] Rocky and Carlo's close to reopening

[Westley Annis]

Rocky and Carlo's close to reopening

wwltv.com

Posted on May 15, 2012 at 6:47 PM

Updated today at 5:10 AM

Melanie Hebert / Eyewitness News

Email: mhebert at wwltv.com | Twitter: @melaniehebert

CHALMETTE, La. - The popular Chalmette restaurant that burned down three
months ago had hoped to reopen Tuesday but said it will be another couple of
weeks.

On the verge of reopening, however, Tuesday was a special day for the
family-owned restaurant as it was honored by the St. Bernard Parish Council.

"Betsy, Camille, Katrina and now this spontaneous combustion fire they had
here. That just shows their loyalty and dedication they have here to St.
Bernard Parish," noted St. Bernard Councilman Nathan Gorbaty.

One woman still there today, has been through it all. "Since we opened in
1965, I been here. And I work every day," said 86-year-old owner Leonorda
Gioe. "No taking vacation, no taking a day off."

Known in her Italian family and in the community as "Nana," Gioe has seen
the restaurant through those many tragedies with her brother Rocky and her
husband Carlo, the original owners who came from Italy.

"My brother passed away two years ago. My husband passed away 16 years ago,
and I got part of the business," said Gioe.

On Tuesday, the St. Bernard Parish Council awarded Rocky's son Tommy
Tommasseo with the first "Business of the Month" award for the parish.

"People see Rocky and Carlo's come back like they do, they want to follow in
their footsteps," noted Gorbaty. "A lot of businesses have come back to St.
Bernard. Don't get me wrong it's not what it used to be, but we're working
in that direction to get there."

St. Bernard resident Val Landry is one of the customers who can't wait for
the restaurant to return. "They rebuilt everything, everything was all brand
new. And then having this accidental fire, it was just really, really
another blow to them," Landry said. "But they're resilient, they will come
back bigger and better than ever."

Tommasseo said insurance has paid for virtually all the fire damage but he
believes the business lost about $100 thousand in profit during the last
three months. He expects it to reopen in two weeks, predicting the latest
date possible to be June 1.

Meantime, Nana is ready to greet customers again with a smile, "This is our
place, our heart, we open it here with a heart when we reopen it," she said.

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