Servers Perform Opera At Unique Philly Cafe

PHILADELPHIA, PA —A unique cafe in south Philadelphia deeply steeped in local lore and Italian tradition offers a special side dish for each table: opera-performing servers.

Victor's Cafe on 1303 Dickinson Street, which bills itself as "classic Italian eats with a side of opera" isn't new. The establishment was founded by Italian immigrant John DiStefano in the post-prohibition era and first opened its doors in 1933.

The eatery always had an artistic bent.

"In years gone by, live performances of arias and instrumental solos, with the occasional soliloquy or poetry recital, were exclusively by patrons," the website notes. "In 1979, an opera student working at The Victor Café between singing engagements sang for his customers, and another tradition was born."

Now, at intervals of roughly 20 minutes, wait staff ring a bell by the stairs and begin singing.

"It's an art form that a lot of people still love," Rick DiSetfano, John's grandson, told 6ABC. "And I have a certain loyalty to the tradition and a respect for what grandpop and my father did."

As a longstanding operation, the cafe has been host to numerous Philadelphia luminaries, and was visited by Sylvester Stallone and a large crew while filming "Rocky Balboa" in 2005. The cafe became the scene Adrian's Restaurant in the movie.