Middletown Restaurant Owner Makes A Difference 1 Pizza At A Time

MIDDLETOWN, CT — When Vinnie Scileppi got into the restaurant business 19 years ago, he never imagined he would ever put his pizza-making skills toward a greater cause beyond serving his community.

But during a difficult time when the owner of Illiano’s Ristorante and Pizzeria has been forced to temporarily lay off his entire front-of-house staff while watching more than 50 percent of his business disappear due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Scileppi is still finding a way to make a difference, one pizza at a time.

With two locations in Middletown and another in Meriden, Scileppi has relied on community support to donate and deliver pizzas to first responders and other front-line workers as a way of supporting them. Since the start of the pandemic, Scileppi has been matching every $10 donation from the community to help support front-line workers and the efforts to help prevent the spread of the virus that has killed 11 people and resulted in 186 positive cases in Middletown alone.

Scileppi knew from the beginning that he wanted to help out, but the question quickly became if he could lend a hand. While the community has kept Illiano’s busy with steady takeout business, the 70-seat dining area has been shuttered for the time being, which has impacted the restaurant's bottom line. Admittedly, Scileppi was nervous about what the coming weeks and months would bring — both for himself and the employees he was forced to lay off. But he still wanted to make to make an impact.

The takeout business has allowed Illiano’s, which celebrated its 19-year anniversary March 25, to keep its lights on and its full-time employees at work. As long as that was happening, Scileppi figured there had to be a way to help out in the effort in a bigger way. Deliveries to first responders and others have ranged from 20-40 pizzas at a time; and by matching community donations, Scileppi has made and delivered up to $1,400 in pizzas per week.

To help drive the local support campaign, Scileppi is using the hashtag #pizzaforfrontlineworkers on social media posts.

“All of my customers have been awesome from the beginning,” Scileppi said Friday. “Everyone who walks in here, you can see the look of concern on everyone’s face right now. It’s apparent. This is a weird time for everyone.

“But we’re doing our best and (the community) is obviously there to support us .… I think they’re just giving back for all of the years we’ve supported this town and they’re helping out."

During the effort, Scileppi has also established a new respect for front-line workers, who have responded kindly to the pizza-making and delivery effort. Scileppi documents every response, all of which ends up on the restaurant’s Facebook page. Patrons of the restaurant can either donate to the cause online or when they place a to-go order from the restaurant.

Scileppi said he has always been aware of the ways that police officers and firefighters put themselves in harm’s way in the line of duty. But since the pandemic started, he has gained a new appreciation for the way that medical professionals have done the same to help slow the spread of the coronavirus. So while he has done his part, he said he has also learned a valuable lesson.

“It’s not normal for any of us to say, ‘That nurse is going to work today and that nurse is putting themselves in harm’s way,’” Scileppi said. “I don’t think as a society, we look at that job as that …but it’s very apparent now that everyone is hyper-focused on (the fact) this is a major problem. This is a pandemic and all of these folks are putting themselves at risk.

“I always looked at it as, we get sick, we get hurt, we go to the hospital and they fix us. But it’s a different outlook for me now. This is dangerous, and they’re putting themselves in the danger zone."