La Famiglia Manno

Part Six: Rosalia & Benedetto

Rosalia "Lia" Manno was the youngest of the Manno children. She was born on September 10, 1944 in Terrasini, Sicily, where her family had fled to escape the bombing in Palermo during World War II. The family returned to Palermo after the war.

Life in Palermo, with my sisters, it was easy for us. I was going to school. I was studying music. I was like eight years old. I would write my own music. I was playing the accordion; I had a Paolo Soprani. I had a teacher come to my house every single day. It got annoying, every place you’d go, "Why don’t you play this? Why don’t you play that?"

My mom, she was a very beautiful lady. She never worked one day in her life. She always stayed home and took care of her children. She would just cook all the time.

We always watched my mom cooking. We’d watch the way she was doing it and if we did it, she’d say, "No, you didn’t do it the way you’re supposed to. You’ve got to put this. You’ve got to put that." So, you learn.

At that time her cuisine was very simple. We don’t fry a lot of food in Italy. We bake or boil or grill. We don’t need a lot of cream. My mom always cooked with olive oil, lots of garlic. We always had fish. We really didn’t eat a lot of meat, because at the time it was very expensive. And we had fish all over our city because we were coming from a place where they catch the fresh fish. So you grew up eating a lot of seafood.

My mom used to go grocery shopping in Palermo every day to make a meal for the night. If she had to buy meat, she would go to the meat counter and buy whatever she needed for that one night. We never froze any food.

In 1958, Lia immigrated to the United States with her mother and her sister Fina to join her father, her brother Paul and her sister Anna in St. Louis.

Palermo, 1958 - Prior to Lia, her sister and her mother boarding ship to America (L to R in white) Elena, Fina and Lia Manno

Once we got on the ship, we were very sad on the whole trip because we didn’t know what to expect. I had never been on a big boat like that. It was very scary without any men. The man of the house is like a strong person for you to hang on. We had some bad weather and I would see tables roll over. It took so long to get to New York. They cooked food and all the smell of the food, it makes you nauseated, worse because the boat was moving a lot.

It wasn’t a very good experience. But we got here in one piece. We stopped in New York, and after, we took a train to come to St. Louis.

Initially, Lia lived in an apartment with her parents, her brother Paul, and her sisters Fina and Anna. Her father and brother were working for Nathan Tureen at Northwest Cooperage.

I was very young. I was like twelve. We had a very hard time in this country because of the language. We were living in an apartment, way out there. It had a tavern on the bottom, drunken people. Most of the time we were crying. I wanted to go back to my Palermo.

The owner of the factory — they were making the barrels — they really helped my dad a lot. They would take care of us. They would send us stuff in Italy.

And they wanted to adopt me. When we came over, he invited us to his mansion. He saw me and he took me to a room and he said, "This is going to be your room. This is going to be your bathroom. This is going to be your closet. You’ll have everything you want. We’d like you to stay with us. I’ll adopt you." And my dad said, "You’re not going to adopt my daughter. She’s not a free lender."

Nathan Tureen (left) and his brother Boris, 1968

Then I had to go to school. I went to a public school. I was always sitting next to the teacher so I would learn a little bit better. I switched many schools so I could go a little higher. I liked my school in Palermo.

The kids in school, they were always kind of bullying you. I didn’t want to go back to school because they were making fun. At that time, I didn’t even understand the words they were saying.

But Lia eventually learned to speak the language.

It wasn’t that hard. I learned a lot watching TV, actually, because we didn’t have anything else to do. It was an apartment with no balcony. It was very stressful. We would look around and say, "Oh my god, we left a beautiful Palermo for this room here?"

We eventually rented another house. It was a very nice house, a beautiful house. There were a lot of rooms. And we started getting friends, like some Italian people. I remember my brother Paul used to go to night school and he met people there. So we would’t be lonely, he said, "Oh you’ve got to visit my family — my sisters, my mom. They all came from Italy. They’re so upset. They don’t see anybody; they don’t meet nobody; they don’t speak English; they don’t drive."

Little by little we started getting used to the idea that we were here.

(L to R) Francesco Paolo, Elena, Anna, Fina and Lia Manno

When Lia was 18, she met Benedetto "Benny" Buzzetta, who had immigrated to the United States from Italy a few years before her.

My brother found out about this Italian family. We would stay out together. They would come to the house and talk. We’d make coffee. They were very nice people. And they had a son — my husband. So that’s how we met.

My dad was a very strict dad. I couldn’t go out nowhere. He wouldn’t let me go out with nobody until he got to know them.

My husband would come and talk to me, call me on the phone. We had a connection. But when he wanted to go out, my dad said no, my daughter’s not going out with nobody.

He brought me an engagement ring. At that time, we already knew each other for a long time. He had to go to my dad. You go to the family and ask for the blessing. And my dad said OK, because he already knew him for many years.

Rosalia Manno married Benedetto Buzzetta on January 30, 1965. The couple would live at 8444 Evans Lane.

Rosalia & Benedetto Buzzetta's wedding day, Jan 30, 1965 With Agostino & Rosa Gabriele and their children - Paul & John (far left), Elena & Rosa (far right)

Benedetto Buzzetta was a hair dresser.

He went to school. At that time it was very popular to become a hair dresser here in St. Louis. He was doing it for a while. And then we opened up a salon. At that time, we had like 35 hairdressers in one shop. It was the most beautiful beauty salon in North St. Louis — La Beaute Coiffure. Unisex hair, for men and women.

The Buzzetta's had their salon at 149 South Florissant in Ferguson for about five years. They also had three children — Tony, Daniella and Paul.

I was younger; my kids were small. And then it was getting too much, so I sold my salon and my husband opened up a restaurant.

Lia & Benedetto Buzzetta

He was working two jobs, like always. After we sold the salon, he would work someplace else as a hairdresser, and then at night, he was working for a restaurant called Andreino's, where Dominic’s is right now. My brother-in-law Agostino used to be the executive chef over there. So he worked there at night. He was a line cook. And when Agostino opened up his own restaurant, he would go with Agostino, working over there.

In 1979, Benedetto Buzzetta partnered with his brothers-in-law, Paul Manno and John Mineo, to open a restaurant at 12240 Manchester in the Colonnade Center which they called The Brother-in-Laws.

Our very first restaurant was on Manchester in Des Peres. It was very beautiful. We had a chandelier, we had beautiful molding, beautiful paintings. When we do something, we do it the right way.

It was a slow start. When people started recognizing you, they come in and they love your food. They loved the service. We were in magazines, we were on TV so many times.

Joe Pollack chronicled the restaurant's slow start in his November 1, 1979 St. Louis Post-Dispatch review.

It's embarrassing to go to a party and find you've arrived on the wrong night, but it's completely distressing to visit a restaurant and discover that your party is absolutely the only party in the establishment.

Thankfully, an Italian dinner at the Brother-in-Law's was extremely enjoyable, and additional patrons had arrived before we finished. When we returned on a weekend evening a few days later, we were relieved to note that there were people seated when we arrived.

Benedetto Buzzetta - The Brother-in-Law's

Lia's children got an early start in the restaurant business.

I didn’t want to leave my kids with babysitters, so we would take all the kids with us. Tony was the oldest one. He would work as a busser in the restaurant, and Paul and Daniella would stay in the back room. They’d play soccer; you could see Pauley playing with the soccer ball. When he got a little older, he would dress up with a tuxedo and a nice white bowtie and go around the tables and talk to busboys. People really loved that. They enjoyed talking to him. He was probably like seven or eight years old.

While the restaurant did well, it wasn't large enough for three families. So in 1984, Benny Buzzetta bought out his two brothers-in-law and changed the name of the restaurant to Benedetto's.

Joe Pollack continued to give the restaurant high marks in his May 7, 1985 St. Louis Post-Dispatch review.

It's nice that Benedetto Buzzetta has decided to use his own name on his restaurant, making him available for both bows and brickbats. I'm certain it will be mostly bows, however, because the quality at the restaurant now called Benedetto's remains at the high level it reached when it was called the Brother-in-Law's.

The cuisine is Italian, the preparation painstaking, the service impeccable and the results outstanding at Benedetto's, tucked away at the rear of the small Colonnade Center, on Manchester Road not far east of Ballas Road.

It's a white-tablecloth dining spot, with gleaming silver and crystal, and a second dining room has been added since the restaurant began. Lights are soft, and there's a large amount of tableside finishing of dishes.

The choices are similar to those in many Italian restaurants in the area, but several have Buzzetta's individual touch, and a feeling of care comes through in every dish.

By 1988, the entire Buzzetta family was working at their Manchester Road restaurant. Lia was in charge of the kitchen. Her husband helped prepared some of the food, but was primarily in charge of greeting customers and making sure everything ran smoothly.

Tony was the assistant chef. Daniela was the hostess. Her husband, Masimo Contreras, was also an assistant chef. Thirteen-year-old Paul made salads in the kitchen alongside his mother.

1988 Benedetto's Dinner Menu (click image to enlarge)

In November of 1994, Lia and Benedetto moved their restaurant to Le Chateau Village in Frontenac.

The one on Manchester was getting kind of small. The kitchen was too old. It was a good opportunity for us to move into Frontenac. We wanted something better and bigger. It was great because it was very close to the old restaurant so that our customers could follow us.

Benedetto’s in Frontenac was indeed better and bigger. The new restaurant received rave reviews.

A recent visit to the new location of Benedetto’s Ristorante in Le Chateau Village found a packed bar, a private party for 40 on the terrace and a full dining room on a weekday night. And this was just after six day in business.

Many of the oohs and aahs from diners at their posh new location are comment on the atmosphere. A regal, crystal chandeliered, dimly lit dining room beckons to both the romantic and business-minded. Other amenities include a small, intimate bar and a large, plant-filled indoor terrace with a bubbling fountain overlooking the building’s atrium. Yes, the former home of the Junior League has been further gussied up and the result is simply elegant.

Ladue News, Nov 25, 1994

Benedetto Buzzetta at Benedetto's in Frontenac

Lia and Benedetto Buzzetta are known for culinary gems, much as they are identified with their formal dining rooms, replete with chandeliers and mirrors and numerous paintings of rooms decorated with more chandeliers and mirrors.

They moved their business from west St. Louis County to Le Chateau Village about four and a half years ago. Lia Buzzetta, the executive chef, prepares dishes from northern and southern Italy. Veal, fish and pasta dishes are especially popular. The menu hasn't changed much over the years, because of customer demand, though new dishes regularly are introduced as specials.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Feb 25, 1999

Paul and Benedetto Buzzetta St. Louis Magazine, Aug 2000	Benedetto's Terrace St. Louis Magazine, Aug 2000

Today Benedetto's is still highly regarded as a destination for special occasions and expense-account dinners. The small, odd-shaped rooms, fancy chandeliers and paintings dripping with romanticism make you feel like you're eating in your rich uncle's mansion. When the floor-to-ceiling French doors are thrown open, diners in the main area have a relaxing view of the semi-al fresco terrace overlooking the atrium of the four-story building. That terrace, with its wrought-iron railings, brick floor and view of the old-fashioned cage elevator and surrounding flora in the atrium, was open only for lunch until three months ago, when the family decided to use the space for Benedetto's Bistro.

Compared to the Ristorante's menu, the bistro offers about half as many appetizers, salads and entrées. Diners may also order from the Ristorante's menu, which includes lamb chops, pounded veal and a larger selection of seafood.

Riverfront Times, Aug 11, 2004

The Buzzetta's sold Benedetto's in Frontenac in the summer of 2005.

We sold it because the rent was getting too high and everything was getting more expensive. So we decided we’d be better to sell it at that time. It was in a good building. Then my sons, Paul and Tony, opened Limoncello in Clayton.

Limoncello opened in the summer of 2005 at 7927 Forsyth in the space that had housed Shiitake, and for a short time after that, Tavern 43.

The space was sleek and modern, with a pillowed-and-windowed bar area in front. The main dining room in back set white linen-topped tables against a color scheme of mossy green and black. The far wall housed the restaurant's wine collection in a latticework of black-trimmed cubbyholes. Two semiprivate circular dining alcoves set off to either side of the dining room accommodated larger parties.

The restaurant's subtitle — on the front door, the business cards and the mirror behind the bar — read "A Benedetto's Creation." And, indeed, Lia and son-in-law Maximo Contreras were in the kitchen, while Benedetto was a permanent fixture in the front of the house.

Veal and seafood graced the menu, as did limoncello, which imparted a tangy sweetness to many of the dishes. The half-dozen pastas included a pair of seafood linguines and a house-special bucatini alla casa nostra.

Tony Buzzetta at Limoncello St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Oct 20, 2005

Limoncello was shortlived. It closed in the spring of 2007.

We were there and business was really good, but the parking was terrible. This guy came in and talked to my husband and said, "I want to buy your restaurant. You just name the price. Whatever it is, I’ll give it to you."

My husband said, "We just opened up." We were aggravated with the parking and all the big expenses there were in Clayton. But we said, no, we’re not selling the restaurant.

He left and he came back several times with the same story. So my husband gave a big number. He says, "I’ll take it." We didn’t know what to do, because we didn’t think he was going to say yes.

So, we sold the restaurant. A big price. It wasn’t worth that much, but he wanted it. The guy put up a French restaurant. He changed a few things. He didn’t even last a year. He lost all his money.

After Limoncello closed, Paul Buzzetta planned to open Paolo’s Cucina Italiana in Lafayette Square. But due to zoning issues, the restaurant never materialized. So he switched gears, and in July of 2009, opened Sapore Italian Cafe in the Lafayette Center on Manchester in Ballwin.

Sapore Italian Cafe - Lafayette Center

The Sapore space was not very large. Diners entered a small room, with a half-dozen tables and a bar at the far end. The adjacent dining room had about a dozen tables, with an overall black and white theme against stucco walls.

The menu traced back to the Buzzetta family's earlier restaurants, with a number of items denoted "alla Lia" — appropriately so, as Lia was in the kitchen.

Sapore did well — so well, that it outgrew its intimate space. By the end of 2012, Paul Buzzetta had moved his restaurant to 451 South Kirkwood Road in Kirkwood.

Sapore Dinner Menu (click image to enlarge)

In April of 2016, Lia and Tony Buzzetta partnered with Tony's childhood friend, Rob Knoll, to open Benedetto's On Main in Wildwood.

We don’t own it. I’m executive chef and Tony’s the general manager. We run it. We opened it up for them — Rob Knoll and this other partner. They have no idea about restaurants. It’s been very successful. People come in for me and Tony. For my food.

The Buzzettas stuck with the restaurant for about six years and then moved on. Benedetto's On Main closed in January of 2024.

(L to R) Rob Knoll, Tony Buzzetta, Lia Buzzetta	Benedetto's On Main

In the summer of 2023, Lia and Tony Buzzetta opened another restaurant — Buzzetta’s Italian Cafe at 120 Chesterfield Valley Drive in Chesterfield. As with their prior venture, Lia worked the kitchen and Tony worked the front of the house.

Buzzetta’s Italian Cafe

Paul Buzzetta continues to run Sapore Italian Cafe in Kirkwood, with his father helping out in the kitchen. Tony Buzzetta successfully runs his new venture in Chesterfield, with his 79-year-old mother working full time in the kitchen.

I’m the executive chef here and I work too much.

Lia Buzzetta, Jul 25, 2021

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