Rocky & Carlo’s Restaurant & Bar

The outside of Rocky & Carlo’s. Photo by David Grunfeld with The Times-Picayune

Rocky & Carlo’s Restaurant & Bar is an Italian restaurant in Chalmette, Louisiana. It is located at 613 West Saint Bernard Highway, which is a few miles outside of New Orleans. Rocky & Carlo’s is the creation of a few people who mostly immigrated from Sicily, Italy to Saint Bernard Parish. The group included Rocky Tommaseo, Thomas Tommaseo, Carlo Gioe, Joseph Gioe and Mario Gioe. Rocky was an Italian soldier from Alcamo, Italy who served his country during World War II. He moved to Saint Bernard without being fluent in English (Kirkham, Chris. “Rocky and Carlo’s Co-founder Dies After Fall.“The Times-Picayune [New Orleans] 20 Oct 2009: n.p. Web). Carlo’s family moved to Chalmette earlier, but they went back to Italy. Soon, their children came back to Chalmette (Cannizaro, Steve. “A Neighborhood Mourns – A Restaurateur Leaves a Void.” The Times-Picayune [New Orleans] 2 Dec 1995: n.p. Web). Since Rocky and Carlo were the oldest of the group, the restaurant was named after them (Gritter, Kim. “Rocky and Carlo’s Owners Not Giving Up.” The Times-Picayune [New Orleans] 23 Feb 2012: n.p. Web).

The doors of Rocky & Carlo’s opened in April 1965 with all of the workers being siblings and spouses. The restaurant became more popular with Saint Bernard and New Orleans natives. During the 1970s, the restaurant would use “1,000 pounds of macaroni and 1,000 pounds of cheese every week” (Anderson, Brett. “Rocky & Carlo’s Was Down, But Never Out.” The Times-Picayune [New Orleans] 23 Aug 2007: n.p. Web). However, the location of Rocky & Carlo’s did not allow for much parking. The customers would park on the giveaway of the railroad tracks. This lead to a lawsuit being filed by two railroad companies against the owners in 1988 (Cooper, Chris. “Rail Companies Sue Restaurant.” The Times-Picayune [New Orleans] 23 Nov 1988: 16. Print). To solve the lack of parking space, the owners of Rocky & Carlo’s purchased a lot behind the restaurant and converted it into a parking lot.

In January 1983, co-owner Mario Gioe was found murdered on the side of Saint Bernard Highway in Violet. He had his hands tied behind his back and was shot in the head. A few weeks later, Earl Smith of Violet and his cousin Raymond Smith were arrested for the murder (Cooper, Chris. “Violet Man Guilty od Restaurateur’s murder in 1983.” The Times-Picayune [New Orleans] 07 Oct 1988: 5. Print). Both men were convicted, but later appeals proved the evidence, which included the murder weapon in Earl Smith’s car, insufficient to convict Raymond Smith. Earl Smith was given a new trial. He was still convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison (AP. “Man Convicted For Second Time.” The Advocate (Baton Rouge) 8 Oct 1988). In 2005, Rocky & Carlo’s was destroyed along with the rest of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina. The restaurant stayed opened until the day before the storm. Rocky & Carlo’s was flooded by four feet of water, and in February 2007, the restaurant reopened (“Beloved Rocky & Carlo’s reopens in Chalmette after fire”, The Time-Picayune, May 29, 2012).

Around the community of Saint Bernard, Carlo and Rocky were both well-known. Carlo was famous for riding his three-wheeled bike through Chalmette. Rocky became a familiar figure behind the register and would ride a golf cart named “The Cadillac” to work (Kirkham; Cannizaro). Unfortunately, Carlo Gioe died in 1995, and Rocky Tommaseo passed away in October 2009 (Kirkham). The restaurant is currently owned by Leonarda “Nana” Gioe, wife of Carlo and sister of Rocky, and Tommy Tommaseo, brother of Rocky.

In February 2012, a fire spontaneously erupted after closing one day. The cause of the fire was determined to be rages that had oil on them. The oil oxidized causing heat to build up, and the rags caught on fire. The fire caused $225,000 worth of damage (Alexander-Bloch, Benjamin. “Rocky and Carlo’s restaurant fire in Chalmette ignited spontaneously.” The Times-Picayune [New Orleans] 14 Feb 2012: n.p. Web). Rocky and Carlo’s reopened its doors for the third time on May 29, 2012 (“Beloved Rocky & Carlo’s reopens in Chalmette after fire”).

Building and Location

Rocky & Carlo’s is a brick building that is right off the highway. One of the most iconic parts of the restaurant is the windows that have “Ladies Invited” printed on it. In terms of parking, a few parking spots are available in the front, but the main parking lot is behind the building.

The food at Rocky & Carlo’s is a mixture between Italian, Cajun, and Creole. The most well-known dish is the baked macaroni and cheese. Another specialty is the wop salad. This salad’s ingredients are anchovies, crisp lettuce, asparagus, boiled shrimp, and other things. In addition, the Rocky & Carlo’s menu includes various pasta, po-boys, chicken, fried seafood, stuffed bell peppers, hamburgers, veal parmigiana, brucciloni, and more. The price range for all items is between $4 and $17 (Anderson, Brett. “100 Great New Orleans Restaurants Revisited.” The Times-Picayune [New Orleans] 15 Apr 2012: n.p. Web). For the price, the customer gets a very generous amount of food.

Atmosphere

Rocky & Carlo’s is a very casual restaurant. To order, a person stands in a cafeteria style line and gives his order to the person behind the counter. The person then takes his ticket, pays for the food, and finds a table. When the food is ready, the waitress comes into the dining area and calls out for the owner. The walls are decorated with various types of New Orleans memorabilia and murals, and televisions always show some type of sport. The dress is very casual with most customers wearing jeans and t-shirts. Depending on the time of day, Rocky & Carlo’s can be loud because of the customers talking and the workers shouting to each other.

Impact on the Community

Rocky & Carlo’s has had a very great impact on the community of Saint Bernard. For example, the year Rocky & Carlo’s opened, Hurricane Betsy hit Saint Bernard and devastated a great portion of the parish. The owners of the restaurant lent a helping hand to the families that were affected by giving away food to them (“Rocky & Carlo’s Returns”, The Gambit, June 5, 2012). The restaurant also holds many meetings for different organizations, such as the Kiwanis Club of St. Bernard-Arabi, and parish officials in its Sicilian Room.