Louis Restaurant

I see it stated that Solozzo and McCluskey were gunned down by Michael Corleone at Luna Restaurant. I grew up a block away(at Gun Hill and White Plains Rds.), and remember going into Louis many many times. It was my "local" Italian restaurant. The scene was shot at Louis, which might have changed their name to Luna. I don't remember that. But I do remember the inside and facade of Louis, and the restaurant in the Godfather, was Louis...I'm confused to how ad where "Luna" became the restaurant
Thank you
HDMKOM

Perhaps you're confused because it's "Louis" in the movie, but "Luna Azure" in the novel.

In real life, the restaurant was named "Luna" and was located at 3531 White Plains Rd. It went out of business shortly after "The Godfather" was filmed.

Our Signor Vitelli took a field trip up there back in 2006 and posted some pictures. It is now a fabric and notions store.

BTW - If any of you Bronx guys has some free time, I'd appreciate if you could stop off at one of the local libraries and look up the restaurant in one of the old telephone directories. The 1970 directory, for instance, should have the name, address and phone number listed.

Welcome to the boards, hdmkom.

Thank you for the quick response.
I don't mean to be argumentative, BUT...
I grew up in Gun Hill Projects, 2 blocks away from the restaurant. In the 60's, you either went for Chinese food, or Italian. Our Chinese was Hom and Hom on W. Fordham Rd. our Italian, was that place that I remember as Louis...I remember telling my mom ,"Let's go to Louie's"...I remember being in the restaurant circa 1969, when the owner of the Cinquemani Funeral home, on Gun Hill Rd., told my dad, that I should "Get a haircut"... Is is possible that it was Louis', and became Luna?...Is my memory and attention to detail, that far off?...
Well, in any event, thank you, and If I uncover anything, I will get back to you
HDMKOM

Sure it is possible that the name was Louis. I did some research on this some years back and found a few mentions of the name being Luna, but one has to be wary of taking anything as the gospel, especially when it comes from the internet. Your own personal memory of the restaurant is the first that I've come across so I'm not going to argue the point.

That's one reason I would love to see "documentation" (such as a telephone directory listing) to settle this. (I had asked one of our resident Bronx members who used to frequent libraries to look it up, but it was never done).

Mr. Cinquemani?? Mr. Cinquemani (must have been one of the sons) handled all the arrangements for my grandmother's funeral.

My Uncle Henry's family lived in the apartment over that restaurant (you can see the windows of the apartment in an exterior shot in the film). I'll ask my mom what the name of it was. I'm pretty sure she's also referred to it as Louis, but I'll double check.

Hey hd, was the veal the best in the city?

Your grandmother was layed out at Cinquemani's, Babe?

Frank Cinquemani is a very close friend of mine. You know I worked in funeral service for more than 20 years for a large corporation, BUT, my Dad and his partner handled the livery for a lot of the "gypsy" funeral homes in the Bronx: Cinquemani's, Ruggiero's, Sisto's, Giordano's, Schuyler Hill, Hodder, Williams, and a bunch of others (and by "gypsy" I only mean they're independent, certainly no disrespect intended).

Anyway, when I was younger and didn't have a lot of Teamster seniority within my own company (and didn't get any overtime), I'd usually drive for my Dad on my days off. I literally drove a hundred funerals for the Cinquemani family and East End Funeral Home.

Wouldn't it be something if I drove the hearse, flower car, or one of the limos for your grandmother? What year did she pass away? Because I started driving funerals when I was 20 years old, which would be in 1979.

Oh, and I don't even have to ask, do I? Immaculate Conception Church, right on the corner of Holland and Gun Hill, right?

Sorry for hijacking the thread. Welcome to the boards, hdmkom. A fellow Bronx guy is always welcome!

By the time my grandmother passed away in 1977, we had all moved away from the Bronx. Her wake was on Central Avenue in White Plains (may have been Hartsdale, but the funeral home burned down afterwards), I believe the mass was in Putnam Lake where she had moved with my aunt, and the burial was naturally at Woodlawn (where else?). Given all the logistics involved, my mom and her sisters had one of the Cinquemani's handle all the arrangements.

HDM, my apologies as well. I checked with my mom, btw, and she said it was definitely Louis. She doesn't remember it ever being Luna. SC, is there nothing in Lebo's book??

I'm in Eastchester with my father right now and he also remembers it as Louis. Now Louis Seafood on East Tremont in Throggs Neck is a landmark. It's been there since 1947. But I don't think there's any relation. I'll ask anyway.

SC, I tried several times when you asked me a few years ago to check out a 1970 era phonebook, but I had no luck at either the Throggs Neck or Wakefield branches of the NYPL. But those are the only two that I tried, so maybe I'll try another branch.

Okay, Babe. So the Cinquemanis probably did a "rental" out of that Westchester chapel. Not at all uncommon when people move away and whatnot. Reciprocity is very important in that business.

There was also a Luna in Little Italy.

Gone now, DT. They closed down 4 or 5 years ago.

Luna on Mulberry is where Clemenza ate by himself in the deleted scene. That parking lot on the corner is still there, though.

Well gang..I have to go to work now, and this is the only "documentation" I offer for the moment. I called my oldest friends in the world. Me, my friend Scott, who lived around the corner from the restaurant(at 3534 Willett Ave.) and my friend Russell, who lived a block away, in Gun Hill Projects, with me,all clearly ONLY EVER remember Louis Restaurant,not Luna. Luna didn't sound at all familiar to the 3 of us. The sign in The Godfather Part one being THEE sign we all remember.. All of us are 55, next month 56 years old. I think the cyber world got some info on "Luna",(a corporate name, perhaps?)and people investigating it, take it as "fact"...For the moment ,this is the proof I need to know, that I remember the restaurant correctly
Thanks again, my fellow Bronxites!
HDMNYC

I don't doubt your memory and I'm certainly not arguing with you about the truth of what you're saying.

As I said previously, whatever little research I did online to try to find the information about the real restaurant pointed me to Luna Restaurant. Do a Google search for "Luna Restaurant Bronx" and you'll see what I mean.

Thanks for your info here!!

You are correct. Louis it was from somewhere circa 1930's (when Loui Sr. bought it) onward until its demise in late 1971/early 1972.

Before that, it was previosly an Italian restaurant owned by a woman who's great grandson is a fellow employee I met when he posted info about Louis on an employee intranet site. I subsequently E-mailed him, & he filled me in on his family history before it changed hands to Loui! Only problem is he does not know the name of the place when his g/grandmother had it!

My grandfather was friends with Loui Sr., they met in Belmont, where my grandfather lived on 187th & Lorillard Ave. My father was the same age as Loui Jr.

My father tells me as a kid, they frequented Louis once a month. My father continued the tradition taking us there years later (1960's). By that time, Loui Sr. had retired & was helping his son run the place on busy nights. I recall on occasions when my grandfather joined us, Loui Sr. would sit at our table during dessert discussing old times.

My families favorites at Louis,
Shrimp Scampi, (mom)
Lamb Shank, (dad)
Veal Parmigiana (brother)
Veal Piccata or Veal Marsala (myself)

BTW, that is Loui Jr. himself you see in the movie dressed up in a suit walking to the bar to use the cash register. That was his domain...and Loui always made Shirley Temple's for my brother & me upon sitting us at our table.

Very sadly, Loui Jr. lost the place while the "Godfather " was in the can. The subsequent owners removed the 3 neons & made it a French restaurant/cuisine named "La Forchetta"
When "The Godfather" was released, La forchetta had posters made up proclaiming the premises was "Where the Godfather was Shot".

It did nothing for business...the great food was gone, & nobody cared that a movie scene was filmed their!

La Forchetta did not even last 2 years as I recall.

Thanks for the info, lobo, and welcome to the boards.

Hi - maybe I can help out here with a debate I have seen often...The restaurant was Louis Italian American Restaurant (not Louis seafood or any others that tried to grab some recognition with similar name or location) and was opened in the 1930s by my good friend's great grandfather Louis Natale Sr. of the Bronx. It was the restaurant in the original Godfather movie, and he and many of his family members were cast as extras in the movie such as Loui, his wife, his daughter Tina, Joseph and Josephine Margherita etc. Loui lived to be 98 (still with a full head of thick white hair) and never left the Bronx, residing happily in his third floor apartment in the brownstone most of his family resided for more than 50 years. He was a well loved man, a gentleman whom ended every evening sat in a huge, stately designed Italian provincial chair with a good drink and a cigar.

Grazie Carly.