The comment might sound surprising, considering the old Gaetano's wasn't exactly an ice cream parlor. With a bulletproof front door and dark interior, it was a hang-out for Gene's dad and uncles, whose gambling and other illicit activities frequently put them on the wrong side of the law. But as Kreck discovered as he wrote the book, the Smaldones were also family men, quick with a buck or an offer of food for someone in need (as long as that someone didn't owe a gambling debt).
"I can't tell you the number people who have come up to me at signings and said, They helped out my mom,'" recalls Kreck, whose new book, Hell on Wheels, is due out next summer.
Who knows? Maybe Kreck and the Smaldones picked an off-night. On recent visits for my review of Gaetano's, I've seen babies in highchairs tended by doting grandmas, kids discussing homework with their mom while waiting for their pasta, and siblings vying for the last ciabatta in the bread basket. It's a different kind of family business, to be sure, but the new Gaetano's still seems to be doing a fine family business.
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