This downtown Modesto Italian eatery moves to bigger space, neighbor takes old spot
For a man with an outsized personality, Vinny Altadonna has strictly followed the start small and build bigger business mantra.
The owner of Modesto’s Chefs of New York Italian restaurants has moved his downtown J Street eatery to a new, larger spot on 13th Street. The restaurant opened in its new space July 2, and has been serving breakfast and lunch since with plans to expand to dinner.
The opportunity to move came quickly, about a month ago, following the closure of the building’s previous tenant, Midtown Bistro, after only a few months open. Altadonna, a towering figure who welcomes guests by their first name and is happy to regale them with stories about his Sicilian family, said it’s been his dream since he was young to own a restaurant with an attached full bar.
“We’ve been wanting a place like this for years. I’ve wanted a place with a bar like this for some 40 years,” he said. “We’re so happy to be in this location.”
The new location, in the former site of the short-lived Midtown and before that Bayou Bar & Grill, is about double the size of its previous location at the corner of J and 14th streets. The new spot can seat 140 inside, while the old space only fit about 75. The new site also has two outdoor patios, one in front and a hidden gem along its side covered in brilliant pink bougainvillea.
Of course it all started with his cozy original 50-seat location on Oakdale Road, which is still serving up his family’s recipes for lunch and dinner daily. He bought that site in 2006, and then a decade later opened the second spot downtown.
New Chefs downtown spot will expand menu, hours
Altadonna has brought over most of his staff from the J Street site, including his daughter Kimberly Altadonna who works in the new downtown location. He said the move to expand was helped by joining forces with a new business partner, longtime customer and owner of City Water Filter Clay Rosson.
The expansion means they’ll also be able to expand the menu, thanks to a much larger kitchen and storage area. Altadonna said in the next month or so he will bring back dinner to the downtown site. During the pandemic, he shut down the J Street site for several months, and then reopened it for breakfast and lunch only.
Once they open for dinner, expect to find more steaks and seafood on the menu, thanks in part to the upgraded kitchen, as well as the restaurant’s pasta favorites. Altadonna said he wants to make the downtown spot a higher-end destination — for folks going to a show or a nice night on the town.
But, he promised both locations will keep their family friendly charm. He’ll also bring back live music, now with much more space to play. The walls of the new spot are already covered with posters and photos of jazz, blues and rock greats and various music festivals, as well as historic images of his relatives in Sicily, including a painting of the family’s great-great-great grandmother from the 1800s.
“We want to provide good food and a good atmosphere,” said Kimberly Altadonna. “Vinny has a real interesting way with people. We want to be very welcoming to all people and families. We want a vibe of befriending people as they come in the door.”
Next-door craft cocktail bar taking over Chefs space
Chefs of New York’s old site won’t stay empty for long. It’s next-door neighbor, the craft cocktail lounge Lo-Fi, is taking over the space with plans to open a breakfast, lunch and brunch spot and connecting the two spaces. Owner Lauren Jamieson, who opened the craft bar in May 2019, has kept her business dark since the pandemic started.
With Lo-Fi closed for well over a year, Jamieson said taking over the space was an “unexpected development,” but an opportunity she couldn’t pass up. She said a combination of support from her landlord (who also owns the former Chef’s space and offered it to her) as well as the state and federal COVID-relief programs have helped her survive through the shutdown.
Jamieson said she doesn’t have a timeline for when the new space would be ready, and because of their construction plans there’s no ETA on Lo-Fi’s reopening yet either. But when they do open, expect the bar to become a lounge off the restaurant. With more than a decade of experience in various Modesto kitchens before moving to New Orleans in 2006, she said her ultimate dream has been opening a restaurant.
So with one simple move, two dreams — Altadonna and Jamieson’s — get fulfilled. The American dream may have been badly battered by the pandemic, but it sure isn’t broken.
Chefs of New York, at 918 13th in Modesto, is currently open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily (with plans to expand to dinner soon). For more information call 209-857-5102 or visit www.chefsofnewyork.com.
This story was originally published July 12, 2021 at 4:00 AM.
