‘This was his baby’: Sorrento’s celebrates 50 years of staying the course(s)

Nestled near a cornfield in far western Maple Park, Sorrento’s Restaurant has offered its customers pretty much the same experience for 50 years. And that’s just the way they like it.

“Change is a four-letter word around here,” said general manager Kevin Nenonen.

Guests are still served a three-course meal, servers hand-write their checks and hang them up on little clips for the kitchen staff. Bills are tabulated on a manual cash register from the 1950s. Even gift certificates are still done on paper and made with an old check printer.

“When something works, you don’t change it,” Nenonen said. “When we do change something, people get angry with us. When we took liver off the menu, they were furious at us.”

The family-owned restaurant, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary on Aug. 22, was founded by Vince Palazzolo in 1974 when he purchased the restaurant and dance hall that used to be Kendall’s Ranch restaurant. The Sorrento’s name comes from several successful pizza joints he owned in Chicago before deciding he wanted to move out west.

What he started as an Italian restaurant quickly evolved into an Italian steakhouse based on the clientele and the popularity of the prime rib. Many of the steaks, seafood and chicken dishes they serve today were from Vince’s early menus.

When Vince passed away in 2021, his children Frank Palazzolo and Anita Nenonen, who have worked there since they were teenagers, took over. At age 87, their mom, Anna, still comes in to host three nights a week.

“I would love to have my dad here still,” Frank said. “This was his baby.”

His “baby” has become a local institution.

“People who came in the ’70s and ’80s, they brought their kids and now those kids are coming with their kids,” Anita said. “The prices are reasonable, and the quality and quantity of the food keeps people coming back.”

And most of them come for the prime rib.

The meat, which they’ve purchased from the same company for 50 years, is all hand-trimmed in-house, then slow-roasted for five hours. It’s so popular that when they announced they were having a 50th anniversary special on an upcoming Wednesday and selling it for $19.74, they took over 600 reservations. They added another Wednesday and again sold out that seating.

“That’s what we’re known for and people just love it,” Frank said.

Customers also love the traditional dining experience, which hasn’t changed much in 50 years. Every meal starts with a relish tray, bread and cracker basket, whipped butter and a secret recipe cheese spread. Each entree comes with soup, salad and a side.

“We’ll keep doing it as long as we’re here,” Frank said. “We can’t take it away now.”

Most everything is homemade, from the soups to the salad dressings to the lasagna and sauces for the pastas.

To celebrate their half-century in business and thank their loyal customers, Sorrento’s will give a raffle ticket to everyone who buys an entree between Aug. 22 and 26. At the end of the weekend they’ll draw 50 winners who will receive $50 gift certificates.

“We have amazing customers,” Anita said. “The people who come in are the reason we still do this.”