Good food keeps them coming back to Gina's

Gina Lollobrigida still brings a smile to Sal Levato's face. After all, he's been so fond of the famous Italian actress that he named his restaurant after her. And it has worked - as Gina's Subs and Pizza - for 40 years, with the last 18 at 2770 E. Main St. in Foxfield Commons on St. Charles' east side.

Levato and his partner Nick Abitabile are celebrating the restaurant's 18th anniversary this week, with special deals for customers Wednesday and Thursday.

"We've had pretty good, steady customers at this location ever since we've been here," Levato said of his restaurant that specializes in Italian fare. "They have come all of the time because of the food."

Some of his customers have moved, and others don't stop in any more because they have lost their jobs, Levato said. But some still come from cities in which he had previous locations - such as Carol Stream, where he first started in 1969, Hoffman Estates and Melrose Park.

"At one time, I had two locations, but when we came here in 1982 we decided to concentrate on one place," he added.

That has been a good thing for the community, especially for St. Charles East High School, which purchases Gina's pizza for the concession stand during home games. Levato has also fed the football teams before games, and supported soccer, cheerleading and other activities with donations.

He is proud of the photos of sports stars that adorn his restaurant walls, but none can top the photo of Lollobrigida that is front and center in a back area of the restaurant.

"She was really something," he says.

And so are the sandwiches and pizzas that have been made daily in her honor for 18 years.

That amazing pup: Kirby just wants to keep her name in the spotlight.

I shared the story about Kirby, a 173-pound mastiff, last winter when she helped her owner, Teresa Milewski, after she had fallen on an icy path near her Batavia home. Kirby came to the rescue, when no one else could hear Teresa's calls for help. Teresa was able to hold on to her big dog and literally get pulled home.

So what's Kirby done for an encore? She recently won the Biggest Dog Contest at the Bark in the Park night during a Cougars game at Elfstrom Stadium.

"We had an employee come up to us and ask if he could award her that because apparently they were scoping out the area for the biggest and smallest dogs," Teresa said.

Kirby, now just more than 2 years old, is still growing. Can you imagine any other dog beating Kirby for this honor on designated pet nights at the ballpark in the future?

A chant of 'no rain': The chant of "No rain!" didn't work at Woodstock, but planners of Geneva's Festival of the Vine would certainly give it a try for this year's event, which opens Friday.

Last year's festival was a near complete washout, with three straight days of rain.

It was troubling because this festival had picked up great momentum in previous years.

dheun@sbcglobal.net