Vittorio’s Restaurant Wants to “Go Home

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Resident Greg Alper took this photo and wrote: “Our beloved Vittorio’s restaurant in Marquez Knolls business district burned, but their sign celebrating 40 years remains.

Vittorio’s was a 40-year institution in the Palisades community. The family-owned Italian restaurant was fondly referred to by some as their own personal kitchen, where regulars knew the family that ran it and were treated as family in return. When the Palisades Fire tragically destroyed the neighborhood, the restaurant was yet another casualty.

Vittorio’s had just celebrated its 40-year anniversary and the restaurant was a local favorite. Over the decades it built a strong community, was a go-to spot for people from all over the world, and saw customers celebrate countless milestones. “It was familiar, it was family. It was like an Italian ‘Cheers’ – you knew you were gonna see me or my mom or my sister,” says co-owner Vanessa Pellegrini. The restaurant has survived many disasters and the Pellegrini family is determined to survive this one too. “There’s no fire that’s going to take away thousands of memories and thousands of meals that we’ve served over the decades.”

Mercedes Pellegrini moved from Brazil to L.A. in the 1980s and sold cakes from her car until she bought into Vittorio’s. Four decades later she’s still there, but ownership is now shared between her and her two daughters: Vanessa and Sabrina Pellegrini.

Over the past few years, Vanessa Pellegrini’s six-year-old daughter had just started coming into the restaurant as well, starting what could be the third generation of women at the helm. “She knew the customers and she would bring them water,” says Pellegrini, “and we’d leave to come home at night and she’d go, ‘Mommy, I want to be a restaurant person just like you when I grow up.’ That is what is going to motivate me to get back there.”

Much of the staff has also been around since the beginning; the restaurant has remained a staple over the decades and seen generations of customers walk through its doors while staying consistent in both staff and food.

The Pellegrini story isn’t the only one of its kind in the Palisades. Back when it was more affordable, many residents bought homes that have remained within the families for generations, a stark contrast to the opulent celebrity mansions that often come to mind in relation to the neighborhood.

“It was built on hard-working Americans, regular people. It’s a really special place and there’s a lot of those people who are still there. There’s a lot of history, so it bothers the hell out of me when people say, ‘Oh it’s rich, it’s celebrities,’” Vanessa Pellegrini says in reference to some of the callous comments people have made about evacuees of the Palisades Fire.

Pellegrini shared the shock of other restaurant owners when the fire consumed the lowlands, but she was one of the few able to return and see the damage in person. “That took everything out of me. I collapsed out of the car, I couldn’t breathe. It just knocks the wind out of you,” Pellegrin said.

Her voice is heavy over the phone, the weight of the disaster audible. “And there’s nothing left. It’s just twisted metal and ash.” The Pellegrini family didn’t just lose their restaurant, they lost their home; “[the Palisades] is my heart, it’s my childhood, it’s everything I’ve ever known,” says Pellegrini.

She equates the loss to a death. “You wake up every single day and it’s like waking up to the same nightmare. You’ve got to pull yourself out, put one foot in front of the other, and continue to move forward, but sometimes you just catch these waves of grief. You’re just heartbroken.”

Although nothing can ease the heartache, the community support has been tremendous. The comments of the restaurant’s most recent Instagram post on January. 11 are filled with dozens of stories, expressions of love, and pledges of support. One reads, “Sending lots of love and support! Had a lot of wonderful childhood memories here, and looking forward to more when you rebuild.”

For Pellegrini, the resiliency of her community has been reinforced. “I knew this community was strong, but I think there’s a strength there that nobody could have predicted,” she says.

Tens of thousands of dollars have already been raised for the Vittorio’s GoFundMe, which will be used to help subsidize the 16 families who relied on the restaurant for work.

Meanwhile, Pellegrini is actively searching for a temporary location to reestablish Vittorio’s while cleanup and rebuilding efforts get off the ground. “I’d bring every single one of them back no question,” she says of her employees. “My sister and I are out every single day to try to find someplace until we can rebuild.” She hopes that officials are expedient in the rebuilding process for residents and businesses in both the Palisades and Altadena, but there’s no doubt about rebuilding for her: “absolutely, we want to go back home.”

“I’m gonna be there. You can be there. If I can do this, you can do this, and we’ll do it together,” says Pellegrini.

The Vittorio’s GoFundMe campaign is raising money to support former employees and rebuilding

Vittorio’s co-owner Vanessa Pellegrini stands in front of presents that were given to foster children at a special Christmas luncheon.

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