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1977 — present
The Italian dynasty: In 1977 Tom Casaburo and Jimmy D'Angelo — friends, neither with any restaurant experience — formed Casa D'Angelo, Inc. D'Angelo's cousins ran Cunetto House of Pasta in St. Louis; the two men trained there, took a sublease on a Coldwater Road building from its tenant, the China House restaurant, spent heavily on repairs, and opened in October 1977, doing all the work themselves. The court record of their later lease litigation fixes the facts: sales passed $200,000 in 1978, a second restaurant opened on Fairfield Avenue in 1982, a third followed in 1985 in a takeover arranged by their landlord, and a fourth opened in December 1986. The Fairfield house became the flagship; it closed in 2010. Jimmy D'Angelo retired in 1989; the Allen County Public Library's Casa Restaurant Group history records the chain passing into the second Casaburo generation, four restaurants strong — on Parnell Avenue, Dupont Road, West Jefferson Boulevard and Stellhorn Road. The food record is continuity: the Casaburo Salad, served with the house dressing unchanged since 1977 by the family's own account, complimentary fresh-baked Italian bread at every table, and wood-fired pizza added in the early 1990s.
Sources:
- Casa D'Angelo, Inc. v. A & R Realty Co., 553 N.E.2d 515 (Ind. Ct. App. 1990) — the 1977 formation, the China House sublease, the October 1977 opening, the 1978 sales figure, the 1982, 1985 and 1986 expansions, from the trial evidence.
- Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center, "Casa Restaurant Group (Casa D'Angelo) History" (Sharon Casaburo) — the 1977 Coldwater Road origin, Jimmy D'Angelo's 1989 retirement, the second Casaburo generation, the Casaburo Salad.
- Fort Wayne Magazine / FortWayne.com, "The Family Way" — the Cunetto training, the Fairfield flagship and its 2010 closing, the four present locations, the unchanged salad dressing, wood-fired pizza in the early 1990s.