WAUWATOSA — We made a return visit to Alioto's on Highway 100 in Wauwatosa to ask them what has changed since our last visit during this pandemic in April.
"We have this 40-by-60 foot beautiful tent," says manager Catherine Warren. "We have a full bar outside. Great dining and great comfortable chairs. We put some money into it to make it feel like you're inside but you're just outside."
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And that large tent really helps out for social distancing. But what really hurts this restaurant/banquet hall is the lack of bookings.
"Our biggest challenge right now is we have a lot of banquets and we've lost a lot of them, whether it's funerals, class reunions, baby showers weddings, or bridal showers," Warren says. "We still have a few, but everything that we are booking is pretty much cut in half or three-quarters of what it should be."
Warren wants people to know that Alioto's is open and ready to serve you. They've been doing it in this building since 1958.
"Our fish fry is great," she says proudly. "We do not pre-make it. It is fried and immediately served. We have our homemade coleslaw. Do people want to really want to make meatballs balls at home? No. Come out get the homemade spaghetti sauce and the homemade meatballs and dip the fresh Italian bread right in there."
The hottest items on the menu are the Chicken Parmesan and the Friday Fish Fry.