A well-known local caterer is transforming the shuttered Lido’s Restaurant & Catering on City Island into a new establishment, Scavello’s on the Island.
The new restaurant and catering facility can handle parties ranging from 60 to 400 people, and will soon reopen after renovations to the building at City Island Avenue and Pilot Street. The restaurant has seating for about 70 to 80 guests, according to the owner.
Renovations are expected to be completed by January 2015 at the latest, and parties are already being booked.
Scavello, and his company, purchased the catering hall and restaurant about a month ago, after negotiations following a bank’s takeover of Lido’s, an establishment that had been around five decades, he said.
“City Island is very excited because we have a good relationship with them,” he said, adding “we deal with a lot of local people and they know us and everybody is pretty excited. At some point, they have either been to a wedding here or gotten married here. Lido has been a staple in this community for 50 years.”
Scavello has operated a supermarket and catering business on City Island for about 10 years, and his family had a market there for decades, as well as one in Throggs Neck on East Tremont Avenue.
Having his own facility to do catering and banquets is something that Scavello said grew out of his successful on-premise catering. He also operates as the in-house caterer at the Harlem Yacht Club on City Island.
“The goal of this is to make this an affordable and good place to have an event,” he said, adding that having his own catering facility was something he always wanted to do. “We are looking to offer a fair price, a good location, and great food to accommodate people.”
During his tenure at the Harlem Yacht Club, Scavello said he received “phenomenal” feedback, and that he plans to keep the original theme of Lido’s and the same kind of environment inside. But his goal is to modernize and update, he said.
“This is perfect, this is what we wanted,” he said. “We will have a restaurant, with a wine bar and will be introducing wood-brick oven pizza.”
The pizza will also be for delivery. Scavello will be keeping the granite and the hand-made Italian brass fixtures that can be found around the building, but make changes to the ballroom that include new panelling, tiling, and the addition of a bar.
He said it will be a place for Christmas and holiday, Sweet 16, and retirement parties. The grand ballroom will be a place for events like weddings and New Year’s Eve celebrations. He plans on having bridal shows, he said, adding that he is considering events like Octoberfest, Opera Night, or perhaps, as in the past at Lido’s, Murder Mystery Dinners.
To make sure he gets dedicated personnel, he has formed partnerships locally with Monroe College’s culinary program, and a Manhattan culinary institute. He feels this will help him employ serious servers, whether they are tending bar, cooking, or preping for an event.
Having the right people on staff is especially important for events like weddings, where Scavello said their should be one waitress or waiter for every table.
Every party or affair is different, from the elaborate to the intimate, but the formula is the same, according to the owner. As Scavello says, “the quality of food and the service are our keys to success here.”
For more information about Scavello’s on the Island, contact Paul Scavello at (347) 680-3865 or scavellop@aol.com.
