Lawrence Marchetti, model train buff ran the old Como Inn, dead at 74

[Matthew Kruk]

http://www.suntimes.com/news/obituaries/16178686-418/lawrence-marchetti-model-train-buff-ran-the-old-como-inn-dead-at-74.html

Lawrence Marchetti, model train buff ran the old Como Inn, dead at 74
BY MAUREEN O'DONNELL
Staff Reporter
modo...@suntimes.com
Last Modified: Nov 7, 2012 02:36AM

Larry Marchetti's ability to charm guests was equalled by his skill at keeping
the kitchen running smoothly at the Como Inn, one of Chicago's most successful,
long-running restaurants.

Mr. Marchetti also was a train buff who kept the model railroads in good working
order at the Chicago Botanic Garden, the Lincoln Park Conservatory and that
cornerstone of Rush Street, Butch McGuire's tavern.

After fighting pancreatic and small-cell lung cancer, he succumbed to pneumonia
Oct. 29 at Glenbrook Hospital in Glenview. He was 74.

Mr. Marchetti was the son of Giuseppe and Yolanda Marchetti, founders of the
landmark Como Inn, which operated in Chicago for 78 years. It started with 13
tables. Thanks to its warm welcome and consistent, tasty Italian food, it
expanded to multiple dining and banquet rooms that could accommodate more than
1,000 diners at a time.

Before closing in 2001 to make way for townhomes, it was a destination for
celebration and degustation. People trekked to the restaurant at 546 N.
Milwaukee for birthday bashes, christenings, retirement parties, corporate
luncheons, wedding banquets and graduations. A lot of proposals were popped in
its intimate "chicken coop" room - a little candybox of candle-glow that had six
private booths, three that sat only two people.

Mr. Marchetti greeted guests, dispensed samples of the wines he imported for the
restaurant and kept an eye on the kitchen and floor to make sure that the food
kept coming and everyone was happy.

He treated Chicagoans like VIPs, and VIPs like Chicagoans. Many Italian-American
celebrities dined at the Como Inn, including longtime Los Angeles Dodgers
manager Tommy Lasorda and singers Luciano Pavarotti, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett
and Dean Martin.

Mr. Marchetti learned the business from watching his parents. Giuseppe was born
in San Ginese, near the Tuscan town of Lucca, Italy.

"He had to sell a cow to book passage to America," said Larry Marchetti's son,
Gino.

Yolanda Mucci came in to apply to be a cashier. Giuseppe fell for her at first
sight. She got the job - and a husband. They raised Larry and his three brothers
in an apartment above the restaurant. The patriarch named it the Como Inn after
Lake Como, which Giuseppe Marchetti considered the most beautiful region of
Italy.

The Marchettis had to cope with Roaring Twenties mobsters. "There was a story
[that] my grandfather had to keep a shotgun at the register," said Gino
Marchetti. "The 'Black Hand' [extortion racketeers] wanted to come in, and they
wanted something out of the till, just like in the movies."

The Marchettis gave their boys a taste of the country at their weekend getaway,
dubbed Montefiori ("Hill of the Flowers"). As they expanded the Lemont estate,
it filled with blooms and exotic animals, including llamas, peacocks, miniature
donkeys, swans (both black and white) and a wallaby.

Mr. Marchetti went to Joliet Catholic Academy and Beloit College, where he
studied business.

His first marriage ended in divorce. He met his second wife, Anna Rizzo, when
she dropped in at the Como Inn for dinner. Often, she accompanied him to work.

At home, he loved her cooking, including pasta Bolognese, chicken Cacciatore,
homemade pizza, stuffed peppers and filet con vino.

"I was so happy with my husband, [with] just an evening at home watching a movie
and popcorn," she said.

She recalled that when she had appendicitis, "He would get on his hands and
knees and do my kitchen floor. That's the kind of guy he was."

Mr. Marchetti could fix anything that broke down in their home. He liked nothing
better on the weekend than wandering around a hardware store.

And every weeknight Mr. Marchetti stopped whatever he was doing to watch Fox
News commentator Bill O'Reilly.

At the Chicago Botanic Garden, he kept the model railroad running, said his
friend, Dave Rodelius, the railroad's chief engineer.

"He was out there in all kinds of weather - snow, rain, frost," Rodelius said.
"He was great with the kids. He would answer questions from them, and he would
let them run the trains."

Mr. Marchetti is also survived by another son, Thomas, and two brothers, Stefano
and Paul. Services have been held.

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