Louis Giannini, 75, of Chicago, died Sunday in Resurrection Medical Center after a heart attack at his home. Mr. Giannini, a longtime North Side tavernkeeper, followed in the business his parents, Gherardo and Emma Giannini, had founded in 1926 as a luncheonette and ice cream parlor. In 1933, Mr. Giannini’s parents applied for and received a liquor license–one of the earliest such licenses awarded by the City of Chicago after Prohibition–and opened the family tavern, Giannini’s, under the elevated train tracks at Lincoln Avenue and Addison Street. Mr. Giannini, who served three years in the Navy during World War II, spent his working life of 53 years in the family’s tavern, an intimate neighborhood gathering place with many regular customers. He is survived by his wife, Lucille; three daughters, Debra and Diane Giannini and Pamela Maslana; and a brother, Aldo. Visitation will be from 2 to 9 p.m. Wednesday in Cooney Funeral Home, 3552 N. Southport Ave. Services will be held at 9:30 a.m. Thursday in the funeral home, with mass to follow at 10:15 a.m. in St. Andrew Catholic Church, 3546 N. Paulina St., Chicago.
