Photograph by Robert Scheer
Pezzella co-owner Pat Pezzella sits down with a mozzarella appetizer and a dish of penne pasta.
By KATHERINE PETERSEN
After almost 40 years of doing business in Sunnyvale, it's safe to call Pezzella's Villa Napoli a landmark. Pat Pezzella and his brother Vince have run the traditional Italian restaurant since 1975, when it moved to its current location on El Camino Real. Their parents opened the business in 1957 after moving to Sunnyvale from New York.
"We took over when they retired. They come down here a lot and check on us. We keep passing the baton on," Pat said. His nephew and sister-in-law also work in the family business.
The restaurant began as a pizza and pasta operation, with checkered tablecloths and a '50s motif. The brothers have since transformed it into a full-service restaurant with a banquet room, a lounge and a patio with a fountain.
The dining room is inviting, with high ceilings and an open atmosphere. Pezzella describes the style as Mediterranean with a California flair. The exhibition kitchen lets customers watch as their meals are prepared. Paintings by Salvador Dali, Bev Dolittle and Guy Buffet grace the walls.
Customers can sit at tables or booths, some of which are tucked away for intimate meals. "A lot of people have been engaged here. We've put rings in a bowl of strawberries, in a glass of champagne and even under a canoli," Pat said.
"We have a lot of customers who are kids of people who have been coming in for years as well as new people all the time. I always tell people the banquet room seats 40 comfortably, although we've fit 70 in there somehow," he added.
Pezzella does a lot of table-hopping, and customers visit the kitchen to say hello to him and his brother.
Some of Pezzella's most popular dishes are osso buco--a braised veal shank in a light brown sauce--pastas with light sauces and pizzas of any kind, all of which can be ordered for takeout.
"We have lots of new pasta recipes using fresh vegetables, different pasta shapes and lighter sauces, along with the traditional alfredo and heavier sauces. The lighter pastas are most popular, especially at lunch," Pat said.
Pezzella's has won awards at pasta festivals at local wineries over the past couple years.
Pat and Vince both attended Mountain View High School and began working in the restaurant at about age 13.
"I started out washing dishes, then graduated to making pizzas with my brother," Pat said.
Pezzella's Villa Napoli serves lunch Tuesday-Friday from 11a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and dinner Tuesday- Saturday from 5 to 10:30 p.m. The restaurant is closed Sunday and Monday. Pezzella's accepts reservations and all major credit cards. The restaurant is located at 1025 W. El Camino Real, 738-2400.
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, October 23, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.