By Christopher Trela | NB Indy
After two decades as the award-winning chef of Antonello’s in Costa Mesa, Franco Barone’s loyal following gave him the confidence to take the culinary plunge and open his own restaurant with his wife, Donatella, in 2009.
Dubbed Il Barone, the bistro hidden in a strip mall near the John Wayne Airport garnered critical acclaim and regional awards while becoming a go-to power lunch spot and a dinner mecca for those savoring an authentic taste of Italy. The chef spends most of his time in the kitchen when he’s not out shaking customer’s hands, while Mrs. Barone is the de facto maitre d who knows most of her guests by name.
Now, patrons can seek out Il Barone in Laguna Beach as the Barones are new proprietors of Ti Amo, another Italian restaurant that reopened a year ago after a three-year closure.
Mrs. Barone, who contacted her regular customers and sent out an email blast, made an announcement about the renamed Ti Amo by Il Barone this week.
At a soft opening for the new Il Barone on Tuesday, the chef was, as usual, in the kitchen, cooking classic dishes from his new Ti Amo menu, which looks in many ways similar to the Il Barone menu.
“This has been in the works for a while, since last year,” Donatella Barone revealed when she had a few minutes to sit and chat. “The owner of Ti Amo kept asking us, saying this is up and running, just come in and start working.”
She said that she and her husband were undecided about taking on the Ti Amo project because they were planning to relocate their flagship location to a former Coco’s restaurant on Bristol Street in Newport Beach. They didn’t want to lose their customer base, but the Ti Amo partnership was too good to turn down.
“We decided we can eventually train the right people and put them here at Ti Amo, so we said yes,” explained Donatella Barone. “We partnered with the owner and said we’ll see how it goes. Ti Amo is a name that everybody remembers. We just could not pass it up. But we had to clean it up, put some fresh paint on it. We went with light yellow and dark chocolate, warm colors. Franco took out the old kitchen equipment and brought in new ones.”
It’s a plan that will be repeated in a few months when Il Barone moves to its new location, and one already executed with the recent opening of Il Barone Sicilian Street Food at Pacific City in Huntington Beach. That location is run by Jonathan Barone, their eldest son.
But the current focus is on Ti Amo, which will be open for dinner Tuesday through Sunday nights, and eventually for brunch on Sundays. Donatella Barone said they already have several parties on the books.
“People know us,” she said. “We want to make it a nice neighborhood restaurant. We’ve been training the staff for two weeks, but not just on the food. They have to bring what we have and take care of my customers. Our customers are protective of us. There are so many restaurants, but few that make it right for you. The worst thing is to say no, I’m sorry. Customers will go somewhere else, and then it’s our loss.”
One last point, she added. “Everyone wants to know if we have the facci ri veccia (a thin pizza made with cheeses, prosciutto and truffle oil) on the menu. Yes, we do. It’s our most popular item.”
