The Team

Mauro Lusardi
Owner

Luigi Lusardi
Owner

Claudio Meneghini
Executive Chef

Imer Djekaj
Partnering Manager

Two Brothers,

An American dream,

A New York Institution.

Lusardi’s - Since 1982
—

"I'm going to write a book." Laughs Mauro Lusardi, "Fifty years behind bars.""

In a city that has little mercy, Lusardi's has been a treasured New York institution for almost 4 decades.

It is the love and labor of brothers Luigi and Mauro Lusardi, who came to New York City in 1971 - aged 18 and 19 - from the tiny hamlet of Borgo Val di Taro, in the Parma region of Italy, and a population of 4-5000 people. Enthralled by the pulse of the Big Apple, New York did what she does, and quickly transformed their lives.

The two of them, a tag team from the word go, worked side by side over the next 10 years, working from the bottom up in various restaurants on the Upper Eastside.

"Oh yeah, we started from the bottom, busboys, washers, then waiters and so on up…" until one day, Luigi, the older of the two, dared to say, "We should try this on our own."

The first place they saw, the one that Luigi had his heart set on, was where 'Lusardi's' was born - the same name, the same location, and the same brothers that stand here today.

"I mean, talk about the American Dream!" Laughs Mauro. "We borrowed from everyone we knew - family, friends, relatives - absolutely everyone we knew we asked for money! Sometimes I think about it, and I think "what the heck were we thinking!?" We had no money!"

It took the duo about 6 months to open, doing most of the renovations themselves, while both working full-time day shifts as waiters, and renovating their dream at night.

"It was a lot easier back then - and we were fearless!" Says Mauro.

As the brothers reminisce their hours - going to the 5am markets, then to the restaurant where they worked late into the night, then collecting their tired family from relatives at 2 or 3am, carrying their sleeping babies into bed - "easy" isn't the word that springs to mind.

Lusardi's was successful immediately in a way that just doesn't happen anymore.

"It's all pretty incredible in retrospect - people say luck will only meet you halfway, but I feel like we were very lucky, luck met us more than halfway. But we just knew it would work! We knew the neighborhood, we knew the people, we knew great food, and we knew how to keep plates spinning, literally! But we did not know enough to run a successful restaurant in New York City!" Mauro shakes his head in wonder, "Still, we managed. Some way, somehow. Luck was definitely on our side, and so were our families."

"Luck" is one way to explain Lusardi's 38 years in business (to date in 2020) - whereas others might say it's the genuine warmth of hospitality that greets you at the door, the integrity of high-quality ingredients, elegant flavors, and authentic preparation. It could be their famed devotion to the finest truffles - the diamonds of the food trade - importing them from Italy and hand selecting only the best. It could be their passion and extensive knowledge of every wine and every region, pairing and expanding their patron's pallets long before it was trending.

Established in 1982, they've seen the neighborhood evolve from the German / Hungarian town as it was when they moved here, and go from what felt like nearer Harlem, to becoming almost Midtown.

The brothers have watched the corner spot across the street open and close as eight different restaurants over the course of their years there. They've seen the rise and descent of the infamous mafia presence, they've watched restaurant culture and trends ebb and flow, they have seen the city's tragedies and crises, and have stood the test of it all.

So, what is the secret sauce?

"Well, it's a cocktail of sorts," explains Luigi, "and one that has to be tasted to be understood."