Rocco Restaurant was an Italian restaurant on Thompson Street (Manhattan)inGreenwich Village.[1]
| Rocco Restaurant | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Restaurant information | |
| Established | 1922 (1922) |
| Closed | 2012 (2012) |
| Previous owner(s) | Rocco Stanziano, Antonio DaSilva, Gianni Respinto |
| Street address | 181 Thompson Street |
| City | New York City |
| County | Manhattan |
| State | New York |
| Postal/ZIP Code | 10012 |
| Country | USA |
| Coordinates | 40°43′40.8″N 74°0′0.8″W / 40.728000°N 74.000222°W / 40.728000; -74.000222 |
Ralph Redillo, the superintendent of the building, has said it was a “big mob joint” and in the 1950s, attracted Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio. Later celebrity guests included Johnny Depp, Robert De Niro and Screw Magazine editor Al Goldstein.[1]
Mario Batali worked there as a chef.[2]
It is said that in 1952, Anthony "Tony Bender" Strollo ordered a hit there.[2] In September 1952, he met with Joseph Valachi for dinner. He was given a hit on Eugenio Giannini, a Bureau of Narcotics informer from the Lucchese crime family.[3]
Rocco Stanziano opened the restaurant in 1922.[1]
According to owner Antonio DaSilva, (Rocco Stanziano's great-nephew) Rocco's closed in 2012 because of “greedy landlords.” The lease was up at the end of the year and the landlord wanted to raise the monthly rent from $8,000 a month to $18,000 a month. Mario Carbone and Rich Torris took over the lease and opened the original location of Carbone.[1][4]
Stanziano ran the restaurant until 1966 until his nephew Gianni Respinto took over. DaSilva, his nephew, took over in 1992.[5]