3. Rocco Restaurant, 181 Thompson Street
Rocco Restaurant opened in 1922 in Greenwich Village, a three-generation restaurant serving southern Italian food. Owner Rocco Stanziano ran the restaurant until 1966 when nephew Gianni Respinto took over. In 1992, Respinto’s nephew Antonio DaSilva continued the restaurant’s reputation for great food and great prices. Rocco closed in 2011 after its landlord demanded $18,000 a month in rent, up from $8,000. “It’s too much for what we could afford,” DaSilva told Eater in 2011. “I can afford a little more but $18,000 and I’m working for him.”
Chefs Mario Carbone and Rich Torrisi and their partner Jeff Zalaznick acquired the space and opened it as Carbone. In 2013 Zalaznick told Eater, “Unfortunately, this restaurant was closing one way or another. What shocks me is that, given all the other things this could have become, you would think that someone that pays tribute to its history is the best use of it. It’s not a Duane Reade.” DaSilva said the neon sign was probably installed when the restaurant opened. The original sign has been retained. The “Wines-Liquors” neon has been restored but the neon tubing illuminating the Rocco Restaurant name has been removed, replaced by “Carbone.”
