BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – For decades, DiTondo’s Tavern has been serving up Italian food to the Queen City at 370 Seneca St.
The restaurant is now under its fourth generation of familial ownership since Rita DiTondo and her husband, Fabio Consonni, took the reins.
DiTondo’s closed in 2018, and the couple moved to Buffalo the following year to purchase it. The Seneca Street staple has been renovated and has a new name – simply “DiTondo” – to reflect the new vision for the restaurant.
“We wanted to keep the same last name – we’re really honored to carry on the legacy, but wanted to communicate that it’s a different restaurant,” DiTondo explained. “We’re carrying on some of the same traditions, but it will also be different in many ways, so we thought a slight name change was good.”
DiTondo is a trained sommelier and Consonni is an Italian-born chef.
“It’s always been our dream to share the Italian culture and food we enjoy at home with other people at our own restaurant,” DiTondo added. “We met working together, so we had worked together in the past, but the beginning of the project was a huge renovation. It was something new for both of us.”
Renovations included restoring the façade of the building to match a photograph of the restaurant DiTondo had from the 1940s. The original bar is still there, as is some of the plaster work.
“As we renovated, we tried to keep some of the historical features,” she said.
DiTondo’s great-grandfather, Sebastiano DiTondo, was the original owner of the restaurant.
“When he immigrated from Central Italy, he opened a tavern down the street in partnership with another family in 1904,” DiTondo said. “Then in the 1930s, he branched out on his own and opened a tavern at this location.”
DiTondo and Consonni are bringing their professional influence to the menu, which is inspired by the 20 regions of Italy and has a focus on raw ingredients.
“We’re really excited to embrace old customers and new customers and welcome everyone,” DiTondo said.
They’re currently open for lunch on Monday through Friday and should be serving up dinner soon.
Kaley Lynch is a digital reporter who has been part of the News 4 team since 2016. See more of her work here.