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 By Missy E. Watts
No matter how you say it (and it seems that nearly everyone has their own way of pronouncing it) Ristorante Cesare’s new, freestanding facility in the River’s Bend Shopping Center has people enjoying the atmosphere and taste of Sicily right in the middle of Enon. The restaurant, named after owner Cesare (rhymes with “Desiree,” – the true Sicilian pronunciation) Evola, has been a fixture in the community since 1991 when it first opened its doors.
Cesare has dreamed of building a larger restaurant for the last eight years. When the space in the shopping center became available, he felt it was the “right opportunity.” Now, looking back, he is pleased at how the restaurant has come together. “It feels really, really good,” he said. “I am proud of what we’ve accomplished.”
Cesare’s family has been in the restaurant business for 55 years. He has been groomed, since the age of nine in the art of restaurant operation. One of his first jobs was working in a restaurant owned by one of his relatives. In 1979, at the age of 23, he and his father traveled from their home in Palermo, Sicily to the United States for a summer visit with family. When it was time to leave, Cesare’s father left, Cesare stayed behind to help out in a Petersburg restaurant in which a family member owned a share.
Over the years he has operated restaurants throughout the Richmond Metro area, including Amelia, two in downtown Richmond, and one on Hull Street. He eventually tired of the traffic and decided to move out to the Enon area.
 From the outside, Ristorante Cesare’s looks like a Mediterranean villa, complete with a patio dining area for those who prefer eating outdoors. The new location is 5,400 square feet in size, compared to the original restaurant’s 3,800 square feet, and can seat an additional 20 diners, including the 45 seat patio. A large room in the back can now be divided into three meeting rooms by using beautiful, heavy tapestry as wall dividers. Smoking is only allowed on the patio.
What the former restaurant desperately needed, says Teresa Evola, Cesare’s wife and the manager of the family’s second restaurant Antonio’s, was “a larger kitchen. The kitchen in the new restaurant is a lot more livable.” The restaurant also features a small, relaxing bar and Wi-Fi internet access.
May 19th was the restaurant’s official opening date and, according to Teresa Evola, “business has been very good since then.
“We love being here. It’s been wonderful,” she added as she showed off the open-air dining room complete with track lighting and soft jazz music playing in the background. (Italian music may soon join the mix.) Scattered throughout the dining room are vintage Italian paintings; rustic stones frame the checkout area and there is ample room for those waiting for seating or for a pick-up order.
To ensure that Cesare’s customers receive the service they have grown to expect, the staff from both the original Cesare’s and Antonio’s have been used during the grand opening period. Additional staff will be hired to help out in the future. Combining both staffs has also given the family, including Cesare and Teresa’s children and nieces and nephews, a chance to work together as a family, something they rarely get to do because they are split between the different sites.
The new location features the same, delicious menu as the original Cesare’s. With such an extensive menu, it is hard for Cesare and Teresa to narrow down customers’ favorites. Among those favorites are Chicken Cacciatore, Chicken Marsala, Lasagna, as well as Cesare’s numerous seafood dishes including Shrimp Alfredo. Salads are a popular lunchtime treat. An extensive dessert menu is also available with such popular choices as Tiramisu, Cannoli and the Rockslide Brownie. The restaurant also features an extensive wine menu.
The weekends will feature menu specials varying from unique seafood specialties to steak dishes. Reservations are available for the meeting areas or the patio. For more information or to make reservations call (804) 530-1047.
Restaurant hours are Sundays, 12 noon to 10:00 p.m.; Monday through Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.; and Friday and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Cesare’s is located at 348 East Hundred Road, Chester in the River’s Bend Shopping Center. For more information check out their website at www.cesaresandantonios.com.
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