His cars were sleek and pricey and his food spicy and inexpensive. But Joe Marchetti’s greatest joy was bringing friends, family and Chicago residents together to enjoy each of these passions.
“He had a great passion for anything Italian and wanted to share that Italian heritage with others,” said his son, Joseph “J.P.” Marchetti.
Mr. Marchetti, 68, a lifelong Chicago resident who ran one of the city’s best-known restaurants, the Como Inn, died of brain cancer Tuesday, June 11, in Evanston Hospital.
The Como was founded in 1924 by Mr. Marchetti’s father, Giuseppe, an Italian immigrant from the lush farming village of Lucca, near Florence (this sentence as published has been corrected in this text). The restaurant, which started out seating 35 customers, grew to a 700-seat establishment known for “speedy and attentive service, good and bountiful meals, Old World charm and a continuity of familial management,” according to a 1985 Tribune review.
After his father’s death in the 1980s, the restaurant was passed to Mr. Marchetti, the oldest of four sons in the family. “He loved the business because he loved people,” said his wife, Mary Jane, “and he loved food.”
Mr. Marchetti worked in the business most of his life. Wearing plastic shoes his mother gave him to keep his feet dry, he would sit for hours peeling potatoes in the restaurant’s kitchen.
He studied the restaurant and hotel business while attending Cornell University and earned a bachelor’s degree from Beloit College in Wisconsin. He then returned to the family restaurant and, like his father, became a fixture known to spend long hours in the front, watching and greeting customers. He often said the key to the restaurant’s success was attention to detail.
Cars, especially fabled Italian Ferraris or Maseratis, also sparked Mr. Marchetti’s interest. He organized road races in the United States and raced in Italy. “It wasn’t about going fast,” said his wife. “It was a gentleman’s race.”
Mr. Marchetti stayed in the restaurant business even after the Como closed. He partnered with his son to open Piazza M, a restaurant similar to the one his father opened more than 80 years ago. “He was nostalgic for something more intimate, but he was always busy running the Como Inn,” said his son. “When it closed, that freed him up to open the little place he always talked about.”
He is also survived by three brothers, Paul, Stefano and Larry. Visitation will be held from 9 to 10:30 a.m. Monday in Holy Name Cathedral, State and Superior Streets. Mass will follow.
