What started as one Gatto’s Restaurant & Bar in Tinley Park has grown to three other locations.
“In the changing times of restaurants, it’s very hard to exist today as a family-run restaurant,” said Chuck Gatto, who owns Gatto’s Restaurant & Bar with his older brother Frank Gatto.
“One of the greatest experiences of my life and career is that I go to work every day and get an opportunity to work with my brother and do what we love to do. I don’t know if we’ll ever stop working. We love it that much.”
Here is the dish on this establishment:
On the menu: Gatto’s Restaurant & Bar bills its food as “prepared according to traditional family recipes.”
“I buy nothing but the best ingredients that can be found whether it’s extra virgin olive oil or fish,” Chuck Gatto said.
About the owners: Chuck and Frank Gatto learned cooking from their grandmother’s and mother’s kitchens and learned the restaurant business while working on Taylor Street in Chicago’s Little Italy neighborhood.
“I was down there for 10 years. My brother was down there for 15 years. Both of us served, managed and bartended. I actually ended up being general manager of the restaurant we both worked at. We’re both around 30 years in the business now,” Chuck Gatto said.
Gatto’s Restaurant & Bar opened in November 2000 in Tinley Park and was followed by the New Lenox location, 1938 E. Lincoln Highway, in Atrium Point, 815-485-7007, in 2006; and the Downers Grove location in 2008.
The Orland Park location, 8801 W. 143rd St., in Riviera Country Club, 708-349-8700, opened in 2014 and features a rooftop deck.
A mission statement: “We have a slogan and that is: ‘Arrive as friends, leave as family.’ We really want to be part of our community. We want to provide people an opportunity to go out to dinner and really feel like what they experienced is being in our home,” Chuck Gatto said.
“I still have probably 25 percent of the opening staff from Tinley. Most of my opening cooks are still with me. Our greatest asset is our people. We’re fortunate. If I could mention everybody, I would.”
Carly Wylde serves as general manager of all four locations.
Decor: “It’s golden and a lot of wood. Our thing is really to provide a warm, comfortable feeling like they’re sitting in a friend’s home or a family member’s home,” said Chuck Gatto, who added that there is a little bit of Tuscan influence inside Gatto’s Restaurant & Bar.
Specialties: “We’re known for our garbage salad,” he said, noting that eggplant parmigiana and fried calamari also are popular.
“Some of our standout dishes are some of our chicken creations. We have chicken parmigiana. We also have some chicken Carmine, chicken Milano and house specialties that we came up with that you’re not going to find anywhere else.
We’re different because: “We do a ton of banquets. We do a lot of funeral luncheons. We do a lot of catering. We strive to make sure those are an extension of what we provide in our dining room,” Chuck Gatto said.
Prices: $2 for desserts, $2.95 for salads, $5.95 for appetizers, $6.75 for sandwiches or dinner specials, $7.50 for lunch specials, $9.95 for pasta dishes, $10 for chicken dishes, $14 for steaks and chops, $14.50 for seafood dishes, and $19.95 for veal dishes.
Logistics: Gatto’s Restaurant & Bar is at 8005 W. 183rd St., Tinley Park. Hours are 11 a.m.-10:30 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays, 4-9 p.m. Sundays and 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays. Call 708-444-7400 or go to www.gattosrestaurant.com.
Jessi Virtusio is a freelancer for the Daily Southtown.
