At 50 years old, Riccardi's is still doing things the old southern Italian way

NEW BEDFORD — There's an apparent population on SouthCoast who share an unusual holiday custom.

"I can't believe how many people have lasagna for Thanksgiving," said Jean Riccardi, who runs Riccardi's Italian Restaurant and Buffet Catering alongside her husband, founder/owner Michael Riccardi. "It's so non-traditional but on Thanksgiving Eve we are always so busy."

Having just celebrated 50 years in April since opening its original New Bedford location, the Riccardis say their business has found itself part of many family traditions. For them, watching these traditions — and the families that start them — begin, grow, and be carried on by new generations has been one of the most rewarding aspects of their careers.

"We have people who've come in and had their first date here, get married, have babies, you see them grow up, and before you know it they're bringing their first dates here and it starts all over," Michael Riccardi said. "At this point we've been through about three generations here."

Humble beginnings

When Michael Riccardi opened up Riccardi's in 1973, his idea was to run a small takeout business by himself, but in less than 24 hours, a natural evolution had already begun.

"By the end of the first day I had already hired my first employee," he said. "By the end of the week, I had four.

Read the latest local news: Freetown man faces murder charge in death of Freetown woman

"It was just that tiny, little place that you see over there," he continued, motioning toward the present-day takeout area of the New Bedford location at 901 Hathaway Rd. Not even the restaurant's back kitchen area existed yet, he said.

Growing in business, and in love

Six years later, construction of the dining room added a sit-down component. But a new business aspect isn't all it brought to Michael Riccardi's life.

"Jean was one of my first waitresses when we opened up the dining room," he said.

"I've been here 45 years," she said. "And our daughter met her husband here, too.

"I know some restaurants don't let their staff date but how can we say that? We've had quite a few romances start here."

Over the years the business would come to include catering, a separate bakery facility solely for making pizza crusts, and a second restaurant in Fairhaven.

Authenticity is a key Riccardi's tenet

On its way to becoming the catalyst of love and tradition it is today, Riccardi's first had to create a name for itself. That's where the food came in.

"My grandmother was Sicilian and my grandfather was Napoletano," Michael Riccardi said, noting how he'd learned traditional Italian cooking from his mother and grandmother. "So what we're serving here is what my grandmother served me 65 years ago."

Don't miss this!: Need a little escape this fall? Consider Martha's Vineyard Food & Wine Festival

A big part of keeping things true to those childhood memories is going the extra mile to create ingredients from scratch, the couple says, even hand-mixing items like meatballs the old-fashioned way rather than using equipment.

"It's very different than chain restaurants. We don't have boxes of frozen food coming in that we throw in a fryolator. We don't even own a fryolator," he said.

"A couple from Providence told me once, we don't eat at Federal Hill anymore — we come here."

Personal favorites among management include lasagna, chicken, broccoli & ziti, Tex-Mex pizza and chicken parmesan. Michael and Jean Riccardi named the chicken cacciatore and eggplant parmesan as their respective go-tos.

What about that pizza?

As for Riccardi's signature thin crust pizza, Michael Riccardi says it's the southern Italian way.

"It's a Sicilian-style pizza, again, the way my grandmother used to make it," he said.

"You taste more of the toppings," Jean Riccardi said of the pizzas' thinness. "It's kind of our brand; we're known for that."

Riccardi's pizza dough facility in New Bedford produces about 5,000 crusts a week to supply both restaurants, Michael Riccardi said.

Food is only part of the recipe

While Riccardi's food may be its engine, there's lots of other components behind why the business has taken off, Michael Riccardi said.

Read the latest local news: West End shooting victim expected to recover, New Bedford police say

"You quickly learn being a good cook is not enough — there's management skills, people skills; you have to understand the wants and needs of your customers and employees," he said. "You can't see it as just a job. It's a lifestyle."

"You should see how many regulars we have. A lot of customers are like family," said Bryan Rebello, a Riccardi's manager. "That's the main thing about it here — it's family-oriented.

"And it's not just the customers. We had a waitress whose water broke at work and now her daughter works here."

"She was almost delivered here!," Jean Riccardi laughed. "The mother still works here, too."

Rebello is one of seven Riccardi's managers, among whom he's considered the new guy. But with 22 years under his belt, that's a relative statement.

"All my managers have been here over 20 years. Most of them have been here more than 30 years," Mr. Riccardi said, noting he and his wife take pride in offering benefits like 401K contributions, paid vacations and more.

Be in-the-know: The cost of living: Here's where New Bedford ranks based on survey

Front-end employee Roy Charleston is back at Riccardi's after retirement boredom drove her to return. Previously, it had been a second job while she was a manager at Titleist.

"This is like relaxing for me, actually," Charleston said.

What does the future hold?

While the business shows no signs of slowing down, Michael Riccardi says the time of exponential growth is likely in Riccardi's rearview, as he looks forward to slowing down himself.

"I tell people sometimes — I've already rounded third base," he laughed. "So I'm not looking to expand anymore. It's enough for us to keep what we have going and having it done right."

But regulars fear not, Michael Riccardi says, as he also doesn't see closure on the horizon.

"If anything were to happen to her or I, things would continue on," he said, noting a younger generation of family involved in the business as well as a loyal, capable management staff. "Nothing's going to change."

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Riccardi's restaurant a generational SouthCoast legacy