Caporella's: The Stories Behind Our Start
We have proudly owned and operated Caporella’s Italian Ristorante since 2007. From our original opening in Perryopolis to our current restaurant in Uniontown, we’ve made countless meals and memories. Our entire family and our wonderful employees have helped make all this possible, we wouldn’t be here without them!
Pat's Story
One of my favorite memories is the night before we opened in Uniontown. After a lot of work, we finally got everything ready for our first opening day in this beautiful train station, and I sat back in the quiet and just took it all in. All I could think was how proud my mom and dad would have been to see the fulfillment of my dad’s dreams.
I got very emotional thinking about how hard our entire family, including the grandchildren, worked together and how proud my dad would have been knowing we all played such an important part in making it happen. Being the humble man he was, he too would have sat there very quietly and shed a few tears to see his Caporella name out there. His name was so important to him. So dad, once again, this restaurant is a tribute to you and mom. I hope you are enjoying it from afar.
Top Photo: Pat & her father, Giovani (John) Caporella
Bottom Photo: Pat’s parents Giovani (John) Caporella & Anne Marie Antonini Caporella
Pictured left to right: Jack S. Filak, John Filak,
Patricia Caporella Filak, Brent Filak, Angela Filak
Brent's Story
So back in 2006 I think, my mom tells me that she, along with my dad, are thinking about opening a restaurant. Being the risk averse person I am, I tell her she’s crazy. Some of the questions I asked:
Do you know what the failure rate is for restaurants?
How much is this going to cost?
Where are you going to do this?
You’re both retired, why don’t you just enjoy your life now?
You’ll never be able to rest, there’s no day off.
You want to deal with employees?
Do you know what a liquor license costs?
So they ignored me of course. My brother John would be the chef, and my sister Angie would quit her job as a dental assistant and wait tables, and John’s wife Michelle would be the bartender. And guess who will do the bookkeeping. And hey, your wife can work there too! Perfect. Your dad can fix stuff when it breaks. I mean, he built his own house, how hard can it be. And we will name it after your grandparents, they always wanted a restaurant. We’ll call it Caporella’s.
It’s years later and the place has kind of become a local fixture, and I’m quite happy to report that I was the one who was wrong. I have to give the credit to my parents, John, Angie, Michelle, and every other family member who has pitched in. Heck I even wash dishes once in a while. And we’ve had so many great employees, and still do.