Pueblo restaurateur Tommy Giodone remembered as 'all around good guy'
Tommy Lee Giodone, a lifetime Puebloan and longtime businessman, died Dec. 20 at the age of 80.
He owned and operated Giodone's Italian Bar and Grill for 55 years, carrying on a tradition started by his parents, Tom and Salena, in 1939. The restaurant was a family affair that included his wife Anna Marie and daughter Denise, who survive; and his late son Tommy Giodone Jr., who preceded him in death in 2022.
"Together, Tommy and Anna Marie have spent decades serving the Pueblo community with food and a welcoming smile to those who would go to have a meal at Giodone’s restaurant. Other accomplishments in his life included the 2014 dedication of the Tom L. and Anna Marie Giodone, Mesa Library Branch," on the St. Charles Mesa at 24655 E. U.S. 50, according to his obituary.
Among his proudest moments were being named honorary colonel for the Colorado State Patrol and when he and Anna Marie were honored as the grand marshals of the 2023 Colorado State Fair Parade.
A 57-year friendship started on the softball diamond
In 1966, the Giodones hosted church league softball games, which were played on the field behind the restaurant. Giodone played third base for St. Joe's.
"Probably about 96 percent of the team was all Italians, so I had to go try out," said Charlie Montera, who was 16 at the time. "Me and Tommy (who was 23 at the time) have been friends ever since."
"Tommy was as good, if not better than any third baseman we had in our league. He was just an all-around good guy," Montera said.
The friendship included a tradition of Montera eating at Giodone's restaurant on Friday nights. He noticed Giodone always said hello to customers, thanked them for coming in and often went table to table to talk to everyone.
Giodone would call Montera, who was president of Ralph's Neon & Electric Inc., to create signs for his businesses when he needed them. The most recent sign request came this summer, when Giodone opened a burrito stand at the Colorado State Fairgrounds.
"Whatever he wanted, I would do for him," Montera said. "He treated my family so well and Anna Marie, Denise, Tommy and TomTom were like family to me."
When Giodone opened that burrito stand at the fair, he proved "he could cook anything," Montera said. "He loved the fair — he worked his butt off — but he loved it."
The Giodones would close the restaurant during the fair's run and set up shop at the fairgrounds, where they have been serving food since 1985. They started with a little trailer at Triangle Park, where they sold Italian fried bread.
Later, they ran the Dugout and the Bud Tent during the fair's 16-day run, cooking up sausage sandwiches and burger fare, including Pueblo's signature green-chile slathered burger known as the slopper.
Montera said Giodone's local claims to fame were not only his sense of humor but also his sense of community.
"If he could not help you, he would know someone who could. He would donate to anything to help the community and he knew everybody," he said.
"It's gonna be different without him."
Giodone is survived by his wife of 61 years, Anna Marie; daughter, Denise (Cary); sister-in-law, Paula Dionisio; and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
More on the Giodone family: Pueblo event promoter and Bands in the Backyard founder Tommy Giodone dead at 57
Chieftain reporter Tracy Harmon covers business news. She can be reached by email at tharmon@chieftain.com or via X, formerly Twitter, at twitter.com/tracywumps. Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com.
This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo restaurateur Tommy Giodone dead at 80
