Cesare and Teresa Evola are pictured in their new restaurant in River’s Bend.

For almost two decades, Chester landmark Ristorante Cesare’s has maintained its commitments to good food and good service, commitments that don’t look to be changing any time soon. One big change is in store for the restaurant, however: a move to a new location.

On May 17, two days before the restaurant’s official opening, residents got a glimpse of the new location during Lucy Corr’s Night at the Casino benefit. The gala, owner Cesare Evola says, was “absolutely great. Everybody bragged about it. It was just absolutely wonderful.”

What’s also been wonderful is the response to Cesare’s new location, which offers him more space, more convenience, and – thanks to being located on the corner of River’s Bend Blvd. – greater visibility. “Things have been really busy,” says Evola. “People love to stop in to see how it looks.”

Though he’s operated Ristorante Cesare’s since 1991, Evola is no stranger to the restaurant business – on the contrary, he literally grew up in the middle of it. His father, Pietro Evola, opened one restaurant, Bar Centrale in the town square of Carini, Italy in 1959, and opened a second, Lido Azzurro, two years later; from the age of nine, Cesare Evola helped out in the restaurant business.

In 1979, he’d emigrate from Italy to the United States, first assisting cousins in a Petersburg restaurant. Since then, he’s owned and operated ten restaurants, Cesare’s included.

Ristorante Cesare’s new location offers a number of options for diners. Both indoor and outdoor seating are available for around 200 people, and the three gathering rooms (which must be reserved in advance) seat about 90 people in total. The restaurant’s extensive menu, which is filled with the flavors of Evola’s native Sicily, is available for diners who wish to either sit down and eat or take a meal home. Menu items include appetizers like fried calamari, buffalo wings, and spinach and artichoke dip; soups and salads; veal, chicken, and seafood dishes; vegetarian meals, pizzas with a variety of toppings, hoagies, sandwiches, plenty of pastas, and desserts.

Like his father’s Bar Centrale and Lido Azzurro, Ristorante Cesare’s is a family affair. “We’re very much family-oriented,” Evola says. “Right now, everybody in the family is working here! My wife is here, my son and my daughters, and my nephew – they’re all here.” And it’s no surprise to know that Evola values his family above all when it comes to the restaurant; in fact, one of the he credits the business’ success to is the hard work and dedication of the Evola family.

Now that he’s settled into the new location, how does Cesare Evola feel about the move? “Happy, very happy,” he says. “It’s been a long-time dream of mine, to do what I did. It’s been a dream for many, many years.”

Ristorante Cesare’s is located at 13301 River’s Bend Blvd. and is open for lunch and dinner every day: Sundays, 12-10 p.m.; Mondays through Thursdays, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; and Fridays and Saturdays, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. For more information, call the restaurant at 530-1047 or visit cesaresandantonios.com.

ereel@villagepublishing.com | 751-0421

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