Mike Masanotti and his wife Jennifer have put in countless hours during the last few months at the River’s Edge Bar and Grill, a new restaurant at 300 Roosevelt Drive on the shores of the Housatonic River.
It’s at the site of the former Royale, a venerable catering hall. The place was re-opened last year as The River Vine — but that business quickly disappeared.
Masanotti, 46, though, is in it for the long haul.
He did an extensive interior renovation — and has been offering killer dinner specials to spread the word about the new place ($18.95 twin lobster specials, for example), in addition to single dances and stand-up comedy nights.
The place specializes in traditional Italian-American fare, with an emphasis on fresh seafood and steaks.
The Valley Independent Sentinel sat down with Mike Masanotti, a Trumbull resident, shortly after the business opened to chat about the new venture. He manages the River’s Edge. Jennifer is the head chef.
Valley Indy: When did you open?
Masanotti: April 23.
Valley Indy: How much work did you have to do prior to opening?
Masanotti: We had to do a ton or work. The previous businesses were catering halls. They did weddings and banquets. We’re have a full bar and restaurant. We remodeled everything inside.
Valley Indy: It’s a tough time in terms of the economy for the whole planet right now …
Masanotti: It’s a tough time, but this was a well-known catering place (as the Royale). I wanted to open it as a bar/restaurant/catering facility. With catering around here, I’ve heard there aren’t a ton of reasonably priced options. I know times are tough, but we’ve priced everything reasonably or on the lower end.
Valley Indy: What’s your background?
Masanotti: I’ve been in the restaurant industry since I was a kid. I worked in a restaurant in Bridgeport from when I was 12 years old until I was about 20 years old.
Valley Indy: What was the name of that place?
Masanotti: Spindletop. That was on East Washington Avenue. It was owned by friends of my family. It was an Italian seafood place.
Valley Indy: How did you meet your wife, Jennifer?
Masanotti: In a restaurant. I was out with friends, she was with people at a table near us. We ended up talking. That was about 15 years ago. It was a place in Norwalk.
Valley Indy: This is the first place you’ve guys have opened together?
Masanotti: Yes. She’s a great cook. She was trained at the old Center for Culinary Arts in Shelton. She’s worked at many places, including the Waterview in Monroe. Then she ended up going back to the culinary school, as a teacher. She worked there for about six years. She ran the internship program and many other things.
Valley Indy: What’s it like working together?
Masanotti So far it’s been good. I think I’m the boss, she thinks she’s the boss. For the most part, she’s the boss of the kitchen. She takes care of the kitchen. I stay out of there. She’s been a chef for a long time. She does a real good job with everything and takes a lot of pride in what she does. She will not serve something she is not happy with — very high standards.
Valley Indy: In May and June you were offering $18.95 twin lobster specials on Thursday and Friday nights, then added $21.95 surf and turf specials. How has business been?
Masanotti: It’s been picking up. We’re relying on word of mouth. We’ve been putting signs outside advertising the specials. There’s plenty of parking behind the place and across the street, so we hope more people find us. Hopefully that will do it right now. We’ve got enough seating for 250 people, plus the separate bar area, which seats about 35 people.
Valley Indy: Describe your menu.
Masanotti: We’re getting into a lot of seafood. Lobster, crab legs. We’re really finding there is a demand for seafood up here. Right now we’ve been feeling things out, seeing what people like.
Valley Indy: You’ve said you hope to eventually install docks so boats can pull up from the Housatonic?
Masanotti: We hope to. We’ve been talking to the building officials to see what we have to do to make that happen.
For more information, call the River’s Edge at 203 – 446-2262.
