Fiore Owner Recognized as North End Good Neighbor

With so many restaurants in the neighborhood, one has to stand out so that people will come to eat, tell their friends about their dining experience and return for more meals.

Fiore Colella, owner of Ristorane Fiore located at 250 Hanover Street, definitely has a forte.

The restaurant

 “This is south-southern Italian food such as red sauces and home-made pastas,” he said.  “We specialize in home-made ravioli and do Bombolotti pasta with lobster meat.”

The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner.

“We have a full bar and roof-top dining that opens in the spring,” Fiore said. “We also have patio dining so customers can eat on a chilly night with heaters we place there.”

 “What makes Fiore special is that the staff and I have a passion for home-made cooking and creation of new specials as well as our home-made pastas,” Fiore said.

There’s a bar where customers can eat as well as a dining room. The dining room has art on the walls.

Throughout Fiore, there are decorations and spotless table linens.

When you walk inside, there’s a reception area where you can make reservations or ask to be seated. That area also has decorations and art on the wall.

One the menu, it states that Fiore is the North End’s only restaurant with rooftop dining when the weather permits.

About the owner

Fiore opened this restaurant on February 7, 2001.

Prior to that, he opened Cantina Italiana located at 346 Hanover Street that he still owns.

Fiore was born in a little town outside Avellino, Italy. The name of the town is Torre Le Nocelle (loosely translated to mean “Castle of Nuts”).

“I came to this country in 1970 with my parents,” he said. “I came to the North End to work for Mike’s Pastry Shop and then I went to work for Rocco Pastry shop, both of which are on Hanover Street,” Fiore said. “When Rocco closed, I went to work for Modern on Hanover Street and I took a night job at the Cantina Italiana.”

In 1980, Fiore said he ended up buying Cantina Italiana.

“Now, it’s the oldest restaurant left in the North End,” he said.

Originally, when Fiore came to this country, he lived in Chelsea. Then he moved to Stoneham.

“After that, I moved to Wilmington because there’s land and I have my own garden,” he said.

Fiore explained that he was given the “Good Neighbor Recognition Award” by the North End/Waterfront Residents’ Association on Saturday, January 5.

“I received it for having a clean restaurant and action geared toward keeping the restaurant and sidewalks clean all the time,” he said. “There’s an ashtray right outside Fiore for customers who smoke and to keep the streets free of cigarette butts.”

Fiore is open on Monday through Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. and on Sunday from noon to 11:00 p.m.

Call 617-371-1176 for reservations (which are recommended). You can also visit the website at www.ristorantefiore.com for additional information.

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