| |
Updated for 2010
Piccolo was founded in 1979 — the second successful
business started by Thomas Valenti Sr. and his
mother Teresa in Bellmore, Long Island. Tom Sr. had
mastered the pizza pie venue through the opening of
Tommy's Pizza in 1961, but wanted more of a
restaurant atmosphere. In 1979 he developed the
concept of Piccolo, which opened in conjunction with
his son Tom’s high school graduation. Tom Sr. had
recently married a very popular Bellmorite, Donna
Tomasulo, who worked six or more days a week
building the dining room business.
In
1983, Tom's eldest son, Tom Jr., decided to study
Hotel and Restaurant management, following in the
footsteps of Tom Sr.'s brother Nick of Compass /
Restaurant Associates— another protégé of Teresa and
Tom Sr's. Tom Jr. graduated and was fast
tracked by Marriott's Management Program, and after
about four years of National Marriott training, left
as a Food and Beverage Executive to enable Tom Sr.
to have some free time and establish some family
roots for himself.
This initial expansion was a HUGE success. So much
so, that in 1998 Piccolo expanded again both in the
size of its main dining area and the size of its
private dining room. This expansion, too, has been
very successful, allowing the Piccolo team to
provide their excellent food and service to an
ever-increasing amount of satisfied customers.
In
November 2009, the success of Piccolo drove more
expansion — however for the first time this
expansion didn't happen at the Bellmore location.
Instead, it was the launch of a second Piccolo
location in Carle Place called "Piccolino" (baby
Piccolo) a smaller version that recreates the
original atmosphere and captures the same great
cuisine and service Piccolo patrons have come to
expect over 30 years serving the Long Island
community. From these two great locations, Piccolo
Ristorante looks forward to serving even more of the
community for another 30 years.
|