This month, Souderton Borough and the neighboring communities will say arrivederci to a popular Italian restaurant and its Neapolitan fare after 20 years in business.
The Chiaro family, owners of Caruso Brick Oven Trattoria, also known informally as Caruso’s, announced last week on Facebook their retirement from the restaurant business and the closure of the 424 N. Main St. location at the end of April.
“Caruso’s will be permanently closing at the end of the month. My family and staff are eternally thankful for the tremendous amount of love this established has received over the past 20 years,” stated the post from the Chiaro’s and their staff. “Many birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, and celebrations have taken place here and we thank you for allowing us to share those moments with you.”
The Chiaro family will be embarking on new endeavors in Souderton, according to the post.
“We look forward to hugging, shaking hands, and serving everyone in the coming weeks,” said the post. “Thank you all a million times over.”
Gift cards will be accepted until April 29. Caruso’s currently holds a 4.4 out of 5 rating on Google Reviews, and 228 Facebook votes.
“You will be missed,” wrote Barb McIlhenny Calhoun.
Lisa Radcliff wished it was a belated April Fool’s joke. Katie Fuhrmeister wrote she has had the best food and family dinners at Caruso’s. Bonnie Rankin wrote that the food was terrific and she has so many memories. Scott Morrison wrote it was one of the best restaurants around and thanked them for the meals shared with friends.
“Ciao!” wrote Anthony Califano. “Best Italian restaurant for miles and miles. Good lucks to the Chiaro family and all the employees.”
Larry Mazzenga wrote that his family were one of the first customers at Caruso’s, after the family moved from Murzillo’s in Green Lane.
“We have enjoyed, literally, hundreds of meals with you over the years, and will be lost for what to do on Friday nights from now on,” wrote Mazzenga. “Hopefully we will see you in the next incarnation of your business.”
Customers reminisced about Caruso’s being the perfect spot for baby showers, Communion parties, and wedding parties.
“Best eggplant parmigiana!” wrote Melissa Smith. “You were our favorite Italian restaurant. We celebrate our home anniversary every year, our children’s Communion and Confirmation events and of course date nights.”
Stephanie Elizabeth wrote that Caruso was the site of her baby shower and her sister’s wedding party.
“Thank you for all you’ve done for the community,” she wrote. “This is a huge loss.”
The bi-level eatery that featured brick oven pizzas, Italian pasta dishes and Neapolitan entrees like chicken piccata was another successful dream by “The Pavarotti of Cuisine” Chef Gaetano Chiaro.
According to the Caruso website, Chiaro was born in 1945 in Naples, Italy, and was an apprentice cook by the age of 17. He left for Long Island, New York at 22 to join his uncle in opening his first restaurant, Aniello’s, where pizza slices sold for, at that time, 15 cents.
Five years later, according to the site, Chiaro returned to Europe to work at La Terrazza in London as a sous chef and garde-manger. By then, the Old-World chef was cooking for and feeding the likes of Peter Sellers, Frank Sinatra, Roger Moore, Sammy Davis Jr., and Giancarlo Giannini. Chiaro would further hone his skills at Ciro a Santa Brigida and La Sacrestia in Naples, Villa San Pietro in Vatican City, and Giararrosto Florence and Bacco in Munich, where he would be bestowed his moniker by the German newspaper “Die Seite Zwei.” He also once prepared a meal for Pope John Paul II.
According to The Reporter, Chiaro, 77, was named one of the five best Neapolitan chefs in the world by the national Italian press in 2011.
In 2002, Chiaro returned to America, and opened the Souderton restaurant alongside his son Joseph, naming it after the famous opera tenor and Pavarotti predecessor Enrico Caruso, according to its website, and specializing in Neapolitan fare (think lighter food, with a flair for tomato and garlic).
Name a Neapolitan or Italian dish you desire, and, it is likely on the Caruso menu: Veal braciole, pasta fagiola, Queen Margherita pizza, beef carpaccio, bruschetta, spaghetti ala puttanesca, jumbo stuffed shells, Tuscan fusilli primavera, lobster ravioli, veal vesuvio, sauteed flounder, a 10-ounce beef stroganoff dish with mushrooms and vodka cream sauce, chicken pesto and portobello mushroom pizza, etc.
They even have their own pizza on the menu: the Caruso, topped with tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, basil, smoked apple bacon, meatballs, ham, sausage, and pepperoni.
Chiaro’s late brother Vincenzo was one of the partners of Chiaro’s since the early 1980s before becoming owner and operator of Vince & Friends restaurant in East Greenville in 2004.
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