Tony Spaziani comes from a family of restaurateurs. He is the grandson of an Italian immigrant, Guy Spaziani, who started the first Italian restaurant in Watertown, New York in the early 1900s. Guy opened a bakery in the 1920s and the recipe for the bread now served in Giovanni’s was born. The bakery became so popular that Guy Spaziani eventually sold the restaurant and concentrated all of his efforts on the bakery. Tony’s father, Jerry Spaziani, started his career in the family business by delivering bread for his father’s bakery at the age of twelve.

Tony’s sisters, Olympia and Geraldine, and their husbands Americo Fiaschetti and Carl Lettiere carried on the family tradition, opening an Italian restaurant in Watertown in the late 1950s. Tony began his career in the restaurant business washing dishes in his sisters’ restaurant at the age of thirteen.

In 1966, Tony Spaziani left Watertown and the family restaurant business to attend college at the University of Dayton. Although Tony concentrated on a business career, he never gave up his love of cooking, and his dream of owning his own restaurant. He sharpened his skills by lending his expertise to the many dinners served at Bella Villa Hall, The Sons of Italy hall in Dayton, and by catering various events around the area.