Antuzzi opened il Postale nearly 10 years ago in what used to be Sunnyvale's post office building on W. Washington Street near Murphy Avenue. Indeed, il postale is Italian for "the post office." Antuzzi says il Postale is an Italian-American bistro, so its decor is designed to make diners feel as if they're in both worlds at once. On one wall there's a print of how the post office building looked years ago, while the main brick wall features Italian prints.

It's a cozy place that seats 60 inside and 30 more on an outdoor patio. The wide-ranging menu features everything from Italian submarine sandwiches at lunch to blackened chicken with a caper, garlic and olive oil sauce at dinner. One of the bistro's signature dishes is Beef Braciola, an old family recipe Antuzzi learned from his grandmother.

The Antuzzis arrived in the Santa Clara Valley in 1898, moving into San Jose's Japantown neighborhood. "Years later," Antuzzi says, "My grandfather had an option to buy 10 acres at Stevens Creek Boulevard and Winchester Avenue. He didn't buy it because my grandmother asked, 'What are you going to do with 10 acres out in the boondocks?' " Antuzzi says, "Since we weren't rich, I could only afford to go to college at San José State."

But it was there that a restaurateur was born. In between studies, Antuzzi became a bartender and restaurant manager at The Parlor in Campbell. Then he branched out, opening Lord John's on The Alameda in Santa Clara. Antuzzi says, "It folded when Santa Clara University wanted to shut down The Alameda. Traffic went from 30,000 cars a day to zero."

Antuzzi's next venture was the San Jose Cafe next to San Jose's city hall. This time, construction of the VTA light rail line did him in.

Undaunted, Antuzzi moved to Sunnyvale, opened il Postale and became involved with the Downtown Sunnyvale Association.

"One of the reasons I got involved was because when I was in San Jose redevelopment put me out of business. So I try to have a voice."

Since il Postale is located directly across the street from Sunnyvale Town Center. Despite recent setbacks, he hopes to see the old Murphy district integrated with newly constructed townhouses and retail shops. He's also a big supporter of the Sunnyvale Summer Concert Series. He says, "The great thing about it is it brings the community out. About half of the people who come are natives who are getting re-acquainted with each other." And although it attracts a late dinner crowd, Antuzzi says it boosts his business by as much as 30 percent.

Of course, you don't have to wait until summer to enjoy il Postale. It's open five days a week for lunch, while dinner is served nightly.

Il Postale is at 127 W. Washington St. in Sunnyvale, 408.733.9600.