Half-century-old Meloni’s changes hands
In 1950, Meloni’s Restaurant sold a lobster tail dinner with French fries for $4.50. “Don’t ask for that price today,’ Joe and Larry Georgiana, the new owners of the 54-year-old eatery, joked.
The brothers have bought the well-known restaurant from Stephen Peters, the last surviving member of a five-person partnership that purchased the well-known restaurant in 1978.
Italian immigrants Ubaldo and Fedora Meloni arrived in Uniontown in 1950 from Calabra, Italy, bearing recipes and the dream of owning their own restaurant. “They knew some people here,’ Peters said.
Peters, who remembers the couple, said their approach was “hands on’ and they insisted on using the best ingredients in their meals, even when it meant offering quality that surpassed the price of the dinner.
“They were never stingy on quantity, either,’ Peters said, relating how Ubaldo would fill take-out orders for spaghetti to the brim of whatever container was presented.
But in 1978, Ubaldo died. That’s when Peters and friends bought Meloni’s. Others in the deal were Warren Parke, who, Peters said, “put the deal together,’ George Laskey, Joseph Biancardi and Domenick Cupelli.
“Part of the deal was that Mrs. Meloni stay on. She lived in an apartment above the restaurant. She remained for several years, which gave us a smooth transition,’ Peters said. Meloni ultimately retired and returned to Italy.
“About a year ago these fellows (the Georgianas) came along and asked me if I would be interested in selling the restaurant. I have been involved in it for the past 27 years.
“It’s a difficult business to operate when you’re there full-time and I’m not. It just got harder to operate as an absentee owner,’ Peters, who is senior vice president of Parker Hunter brokerage in Uniontown.
“It was time for me to bow out.’
“It’s been a tremendous opportunity. Meloni’s is a fixture in Uniontown. It was when we bought it. It still is,’ he said.
Peters wouldn’t discuss the sale price, but joked, “I don’t think I got enough and I’m sure they think they paid too much.’ However, real estate transactions recorded in the Fayette County Recorder of Deeds office showed the sale by Meloni’s Inc. to Joseph A. Georgiana and others of Uniontown for $180,000 for the parking lot and from Old Anchor Inc. for $290,000 for the restaurant and two adjoining buildings. That would not include the value of the business, however.
Restauranting and food service are no strangers to the Georgianas. Joe Georgiana, a cousin, operated another well-known Uniontown eatery, The Venetian Restaurant that was located on Fayette Street before being destroyed by fire in the 1970s. He also owned Fayette Frozen Foods while his brother, Sam Georgiana, owned Central Produce.
“We were looking for a business to buy because we need to go to work,’ Joe Georgiana said.
“Larry and I always talked about going into business together,’ he added.
Joe and David Georgiana operated the Caddyshack in Uniontown. “We sold that,’ Joe said.
While Meloni’s is known for its Italian cooking, the restaurant offers a wide variety of menu items, including fresh seafood, chicken dishes, certified Angus beef and regional favorites such as ham loaf.
“We are going to add some homemade pasta; gnocchi, ravioli.
“We will keep Meloni’s original spaghetti sauce but we are going to add our own family recipe,’ Joe Georgiana said.
Meloni’s interior ambiance will remain as well, he said.
“We have no plans to remodel.’ One of the restaurant’s trademarks is its square, red-topped tables, Italian d?cor and age-darkened wood paneling in the bar.
Meloni’s also offers a private, upstairs dining room that can accommodate banquets, luncheons, rehearsal dinners, bridal showers, weddings or other family gatherings for up to 75 guests.
For information or banquet menus, call 724-437-2061.
Meloni’s is open Monday-Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Free parking is available next to the restaurant.