THE BEGINNING
The story began In 1956, when Frank Vaccaro, the dashing young son of Sicilian immigrants and Angelina (Linda), his beautiful immigrant wife from Alberona, Italy, started selling pizzas out of their neighborhood beverage shop in Akron. They became business owners through Frank's entrepreneurship, Linda's Italian cooking and two $500 loans from close friends. Plaza Beverage opened.
Quickly, they grew out of the beverage shop space and purchased a small building across the street and accordingly named it, Vaccaro's Restaurant. Through sacrifice, risk-taking, and a lot of hard work they grew from that small space on Arlington Street to six restaurants around Akron. Also known as Mr. and Mrs. V, Frank and Linda truly achieved the American dream.
Vaccaro’s Today
The Vaccaro's Restaurant of yesteryear became Trattoria Vaccaro of today
– Raphael Vaccaro –
Located in Bath, Ohio the business stayed in the family and the reins were handed over to Frank and Linda's son Raphael. He took the traditional Italian fare to a new level, while still embracing the history, flavors, recipes, and traditions that his mother had brought from Italy.
Raphael also had a passion for wine and placed an emphasis on building an outstanding wine list for The Trattoria. He regularly hosts wine tasting dinners with renowned winemakers from around the world. These nuances earned the praises of Gourmet and Bon Appetit magazines (voted a Top 10 Restaurant in Ohio, December 2007); Restaurant Hospitality magazine (third place, International Wine List category, 2007); and Wine Spectator magazine (Award of Excellence).
