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General News: Leo's Celebrates 30 Years on Monday
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| Danny Maniscalchi at Leo's Italian Restaurant in Cornwall, where the 30th Anniversary Party will be held on May 30th. |
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| Leo Maniscalchi outside the restaurant that bears his name in Cornwall. |
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| Leo's in Cornwall is one of three restaurants. |
May 25, 2011
When Leonardo Maniscalchi left Sicily in 1958 with his young bride, Giuseppina, he probably had no idea that his adventure would take him to Cornwall, New York, where today he is celebrating thirty years of bringing fresh Italian food and pizza to the local community.
Leonardo, better known as Leo, landed in Brooklyn where he and Giuseppina worked until they bought an apartment house in Queens with her father, Gaspare. Their first child, Danny, was soon born and the couple thrived until a recession hit in the early 1970s. Two more sons, Gaspar and Franky, followed.
Gaspare, who saw how his three daughters and their husbands were struggling economically, decided to buy a building in a small town they passed on their way to the Poconos. This small town was Newburgh where they saw the need for quality Italian food.
Leonardo and his in-laws opened Roma Imperial on Route 9W in the town of Newburgh, then expanded to a second restaurant in New Windsor, on Route 32.
From Roma Imperial to Leo's Italian Restaurant
According to Danny Maniscalchi, the two Roma Imperials soon became the talk of town. Gaspare ran the new location in New Windsor while Leo and Steve worked in Newburgh. The sisters were very close and helped at the restaurants as much as possible while raising their own.
In the early 1980s the brothers-in-law decided to go their own ways and Leo was the first to establish a new restaurant. On Memorial Day 1981, Leo’s Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria opened in the Cornwall Grand Union Plaza. On opening day, he served a slice of pizza and a can of soda for only one dollar. With his three sons to help him, Leo continued his intense working habits and stayed open in Cornwall until one or two in the morning.
30th Anniversary Celebration on Memorial Day
Over three decades, Leo’s in Cornwall has become a popular spot for local diners and an active member of the community. It sponsors the Little League, takes out ads in yearbooks and commemorative journals, and father Leo, now 78, likes to ride his 1985 Buick Rivera in the 4th of July parade. The family opened two additional Leo’s Italian Restaurants in the past decade, one in the town of Newburgh and one near Dutchess Stadium in Wappinger’s Falls, but the Cornwall site is the first and will be the location for an all-day 30th anniversary party on Monday, May 30.
Son Danny says that from noon til 8 pm they will be offering pizza and coke at prices like they were in 1981 – and the public is invited to stop in under the tent in the parking lot to say hello to the Maniscalchi family, listen to the live DJ, and, of course, enjoy some fresh-made Italian food.
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