It’s a love story a quarter of a century in the making – a love of food, of Canmore and, despite some initial awkward moments, its central characters.
This year marks 25 in business for Santa Lucia Trattoria on Main Street in Canmore and, as is often the case, it involves people arriving in the valley for a short stay, then deciding to call it home.
Born in Sicily before his family moved to Ontario, Frank Barbaro worked in a couple of his uncle’s restaurants in Barrie, as a teenager and through high school, before a brother in law who owned properties in Alberta asked if he’d be interested in opening a restaurant in Canmore.
“I said, ‘where?’” said Barbaro, laughing. “He had a property in Okotoks and Canmore and I flew out to look at them. I felt like Canmore had more potential, being a tourist town – although nothing like it is today for tourists – and the next thing I knew ...”
The next thing he knew, he and a partner from New Brunswick had picked up a couple of pizza ovens in that maritime province and drove across the country to start a family restaurant. The ovens remain in place today.
To celebrate a quarter century in business, for 25 days, from Jan. 25 to Feb. 22 (excluding Sundays), Santa Lucia will offer an item from the original menu at the original price.
A first year in business was memorable for two reasons. First, Barbaro bought out his partner, and second, he hired Bonnie, who was one of the first front of house employees for the restaurant, which opened on Jan. 17, 1993.
It’s easy to imagine Barbaro’s initial reaction – “hey, when a beautiful blonde walks in ...”
But in recounting her memory of the event, it’s more difficult to imagine Ontarian Bonnie still being part of the equation.
“I’d been in the Bow Valley for two years and it was hard to get jobs in winter,” she said. “I really didn’t want to be a waitress, but I saw the help wanted sign and went in. I talked with these two young guys and said ‘you’ll fail in a year.’
“But three days later, after our appointment, he (Barbaro) called back. I was surprised and asked why, and he said he liked my honesty. He was so kind and I was drawn to him.”
A year later, Frank and Bonnie were married, three kids followed in the ensuing years and, like when he worked in his uncle’s restaurants in Barrie, Santa Lucia became a true family business (“our first daughter first stood up in a romaine box,” said Bonnie).
“I came out here with a five-year plan,” said Barbaro, “but, married and three kids later, it’s turned into 25 years. Business is better than ever and in the last five years, my brother Joe has been here, which has really helped.
Barbaro started out with Italian standards and some recipes of his uncle’s, but has also crafted his own recipes over the years. Originally, big hits included homemade cannelloni, manicotti and pizza. Those remain favourites, along with items like panzerotti (pizza dough filled, folded and fried). “Some things change, but some are just so popular you can’t take them off the menu,” said Barbaro. “And the panzerotti is pretty unique.”
Over the years, Barbaro has seen plenty of changes in the Canmore business climate, with operations closing and opening, a population boom after the ‘88 Olympics, boosts like a Russell Crowe movie taking place and staffers ordering 20 large pizzas at a time, and ongoing support from locals.
“You can get by in the summer months with tourists,” he said, “but you need to have a local following to keep you going. You need satisfied local customers to carry you through the year.”
Keeping locals and tourists alike coming back has meant in-house pasta, along with some imported from Italy, and Canmore Pasta products, “and keeping everything as fresh as possible,” he said.
Today, said Bonnie, some of the favourites are the Penne Sambuca (a recipe Frank traded to his uncle for one of his), pizza, veal and chicken parmigiana and Fusilli al Franco.
Over the years, having a family restaurant has meant long hours, alleviated somewhat with Joe’s arrival, but “in 25 years, I’ve probably worked like some people do in a lifetime,” said Barbaro. “Having Joe here has allowed me to step away for a bit of balance and family time.
“And we’ve tried to give back to the community through things like the backpack program and we’ve hired lots of kids for their first job. Hopefully, we were a positive influence by doing that.
“And we’ve been lucky to have some long-term, supportive staff. We’ve been pretty blessed that way.”
