North Adams' Zio Roberto Fare Steeped in Italian Tradition
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Zio Roberto Ristorante has a secret weapon in the basement.
In a sparking white room, tagliatelle, gnocchi and ravioli is being meticulously made by hand.
"It's a full half-day process to make sure we're giving everybody some fresh pasta," said Michael Moreno, separating tagliatelle noodles.
All the pasta is being made onsite, some through a fast-paced extruder, with flour imported from Italy, said owner David Moresi, "everything is being done in house."
The opening of Zio Roberto and Taverna is a the fulfillment of Moresi's passion for Italian food and culture.
"My second passion is to draw people out of Mass MoCA, get them onto Marshall Street, get them up around the corner, and get them onto Main Street, and start supporting all the other local businesses, be that restaurants, retail businesses, etc.," he said this week, as the final touches were being made for the restaurant's formal opening on Monday.
"True economic development, that's the real key and goal here, but the intent always was to have an Italian restaurant here."
On one side of the restaurant is the Taverna, the former Mohawk bar where Moresi's grandfather used to sling drinks. Now it's a cozy lounge based on the Italian premise of "aperitivo."
"If someone wants the full immersive experience. They can start off with a taverna, have a pre-dinner drink and a pair of tables, have a nice glass of wine, have a nice cocktail, have a mocktail, have a peroni, have a beer, and then come and be treated to an amazing dining experience," Moresi said. "Then make it a night out, head back over to the taverna for an after dinner drink, get together with friends, and that was always what we want people to enjoy."
He hadn't plan on running bar, like the Mohawk, but the new vision is more like a cocktail lounge -- no jukebox, no pool table.
"We've heard throughout the community that people want this type of an environment and alternative, there's all kinds of great establishments here in the area, but this is just something different," he said.
When you step into the back dining room, the walls are covered with a collection of family photos dating back to the early 1900s. While his family holds a lot of Italian history, the restaurant does as well.
"My grandfather, back in 1933 started the Mohawk Tavern in North Adams. This was the third and final location of it," he said. "My father then operated the Mohawk Tavern in this location and owned this building, and then you know it was operated for many, many years by someone that he sold to, and then when the opportunity came up to get this building back into the family name, jumped at it."
Moresi purchased the Mulcare Block in 2014 and renovated the apartments on the second and third floor; Grazie, which has since moved to State Street, opened in the restaurant side and the bar was leased to other operators. The first floor has been undergoing renovations the past year. There's new signage, though "Mohawk" is still prominent in stained glass on Center Street.
Moresi put a lot of work and a "significant investment" to deep clean and replace items like furniture and kitchen equipment, adding a new ceiling with sound absorbing material, and tinted the windows for privacy and to reduce heat and glare.
"Every little detail you'll notice, details as small as the wall plates on your wall receptacles, being heavy cast metal ... all the decor on all the walls, it's all from Italy," he said, noting the 50 leather-wrapped, made in Italy, decanters. "I'm so very passionate about being really authentic and really following that path with this place."
Moresi said he's got a great team of chefs and managers. Chefs Nick Moulton and Peter Belmonte have a history in Italian cooking, and working in local restaurants including Mezze. With Italian being in their heritage, they are excited to bring in the tradition of Sunday family dinner to the restaurant.
"Being in this room, being in North Adams, being in Italy. You think about Sundays," said Moulton. "It's about breaking bread with your family at the table, it's about going to your Nana's house every Sunday, there's the smells of meatballs roasting or just going underneath every crack of the doors in the room, you can smell them everywhere, and there's a big pot of red sauce, and you gather your family around the table, and you break bread together."
They're putting a strong emphasis on family style eating on Sundays, he said, with passing around bowls of pasta, meatballs, salad and bread. "You know it's all about love, it's about family, and we want a strong emphasis on sharing your meal together on Sundays."
The two chef's are excited for guests try the fresh ingredients sourced from local farms, and the freshly baked bread. Belmonte said he wants customers to struggle with what they'll try next.
"We're putting a lot of effort into making sure that everything is very, very fresh, they're true to the classics. We want to try to stick within that dynamic," he said. "I mean, obviously, we'll bring in, you know, fresh fish throughout the week, pretty much on a daily basis, but making sure that the ingredients for everything are perfect, so that way no one dish sticks out more than the other, that they're here for everything."
General manager Anh Phan has worked in the restaurant industry in Boston area, including Polcari's, and recently moved to the Berkshires, seeing Zio Roberto as an opportunity to follow her own passion for scratch-made Italian fare.
Phan said they want customers to feel at home and keep them coming back.
"There is nothing too little, too much to ask for, and we really want people to be here feeling really good about not only the food, but how we made them feel throughout the whole service," she said. "I strongly believe that hospitality goes a long way, and people not only come back for the food, but they really come back for how we make them feel."
Assistant general manager Ashley Vadnais, who grew up with big family dinners, and saw what Moresi was doing and wanted to be a part of it.
"This is something very different, new, and elevated to the area. We don't even want to use the word upscale, because that's not what this is. This is elevated," she said. "We want different customer service that you've never had anywhere else, a different experience that brings you through the door, not just for the phenomenal food, which we know is hands down going to be the best Italian food, but just overall great customer service, where it's not just the transaction, you're actually getting to know your customers, you're bringing them back, and you're actually building a relationship with them."
Zio Roberto will be opening Monday and will be open seven days a week, with reservations available starting Thursday. It is located at 24-30 Marshall St. Hours will be from 4 to 10 p.m. and the taverna will be open an hour before and after the restaurant.
Tags: new business, Italian, restaurants,
