FAMILY BONDING FOR THREE GENERATIONS OF SCOTTOS, SUNDAYS ARE FOR GATHERING AT THEIR SOUTHAMPTON HOME. BY R. COURI HAY PHOTOGRAPHY BY ERIC STRIFFLER

t’s Father’s Day, and inside the Scotto family’s and Pa are not here—they want a full house. And as industry; Rosanna promised to work in the res- Southampton home, there is a whirlwind of if we’re not a big enough group, there are always taurant on the weekends. This is every mother’s Iactivity. Boisterous conversation and laughter friends who feel compelled to come visit us as soon dream—to work with her children side by side. barely drown out the sounds of pots and pans in as we wake up because they know they’re going to What is each family member’s role in the the heartbeat of the house: the kitchen. Heavenly find some kind of delicious morsel at our house. restaurant? aromas of marinara waft into the air, and wine- What’s it like to have so many Scotto ELAINA SCOTTO: My role at Fresco has glasses are never empty. The Scotto family women under one roof? changed quite drastically in 18 years. It began as wouldn’t have it any other way. For the past seven ANTHONY SCOTTO SR.: Being surrounded years, Marion and Anthony Scotto Sr. have by so many strong women, it’s hard to get a word Sisters Rosanna shared this home with their daughter Rosanna in... except when it came to the design of the house and Elaina Scotto prepare a Sunday Scotto, anchor of Fox 5’s Good Day ; her and landscaping. None of them wanted to deal family dinner. husband, Lou Ruggiero; daughter Elaina Scotto; with the details; they just wanted the key. I worked and four grandchildren. Son Anthony Scotto Jr., with the architect to make sure everyone had his wife, Theresa, and their two children live in comfortable bedroom suites, we had a big enough Hampton Bays and are frequent visitors. media room, and we had a roomy kitchen. There’s The family’s closeness and welcoming sense of nothing better than waking up on Sunday morn- Italian hospitality carries beyond the Hampton ings and making my grandchildren pancakes and home into their burgeoning restaurant empire, waffles, catching up on their weekend activities, led by the flagship, Fresco by Scotto. starting the Sunday sauce, and then sneaking off But on this particular weekend, all business for a round of golf with my friends before dinner. matters are set aside for a traditional family meal. It’s rare for family members to live together and enjoy one another as much as you do. How did your family come to share a home RS: It is. Listen, we have a beautiful family, but in the Hamptons? we’re just like everybody else—we have our ups MARION SCOTTO: For many years we had a and downs; we fight; we make up, but we appreci- big home in Woodstock, New York. As my chil- ate our family. We’re lucky because we have dren grew older, one by one they moved out to the Fresco by Scotto restaurant in and Hamptons. Eventually, we sold our Woodstock that has also been an extension of our home. home, and we decided to buy a house in the East How did Fresco by Scotto start? End because my best friends all live here and we MS: I could not wait to have my family back in the were always their weekend guests. Our sons had nest (New York). My sons were in , already made the move and bought their own and I suggested to my son Anthony Jr. that I would homes but my daughters wanted my husband, do anything he wanted if he came back home. Anthony, and me to be their partners. Anthony, of course, wanted to open a restaurant. : My kids don’t like it It took us six months to find the right location. when we come out here in the winter and Grandma When we did, Elaina decided to leave the fashion Makeup by Erin McNeill

102 HAMPTONS-MAGAZINE.COM HAMPTONS-MAGAZINE.COM 103 hostess at the 52nd Street restaurant to now spear- ANTHONY JR.: These days the restaurant busi- celery, and onions. I love to cook, not every day, but heading the expansion of the On The Go brand ness demands more than just a great dish of we do love to entertain in the Hamptons. and a 9,000 square-foot megastore on Wall Street. pasta—each meal should be an entertaining culi- Where in the Hamptons does the family ANTHONY JR: At Fresco by Scotto I parent nary experience from start to finish. It takes finesse, go when they’re not in the Scotto house? over 150 employees, 70 percent of whom have patience, and Advil. This may sound daunting, but ES: My daughter Julia, 12, is an avid rider and been with us for over 10 years. What I think I am there are plenty of perks—one being meeting spends most of her time at Topping Riding Club. good at is making hundreds of people a day feel George Steinbrenner and having him and his fam- This year, she’s volunteering at the camp to teach like they’re dining at our home. ily become regulars and part of our family. younger girls how to ride. On her days off, she’s RS: I am the president of schmoozing! I’m look- Building on that relationship, Fresco by Scotto has shopping at Michael Kors, and she ends her nights ing to expand the brand, exploring television become a contributor to the “Legends Seating” with a gelato from Sant Ambroeus. My son Danny, show opportunities, and we’re working with HSN area at Yankee Stadium and the reason why I 15, is always at Coopers Beach. As a single mom, I on a line of meal deliveries. You know, its not as proudly wear the Yankees World Series ring. tell my kids everyday that life is not meant to be if you can just have a little restaurant and make Rosanna, you’re celebrating 26 years on perfect, but they should be happy because they are a living of it. You really have to keep working, Fox 5. How do you juggle everything? surrounded by so much love in our family. expanding on it, and looking for opportunities. RS: You can’t do it all. There are days when I will ANTHONY JR.: Six days a week juggling all clockwise from top left: Fresh And that’s where I come in. say, “I’m not doing anything today,” and I’m just of our businesses I’m exhausted. It’s an awesome mozzarella with tomato and basil is feeling to know that in an hour and a half I’m on the Father’s Day menu; Marion Scotto dishes eggplant and zucchini at my home in Hampton Bays with my wife, pie; Julia Faucetta helps serve; Theresa, and our two children, Anthony III and patriarch Anthony Scotto Sr. makes a toast; the eggplant and zucchini Gabriella. We love exploring the waterways, pie looks right off the Fresco by from Hampton Bays to Shelter Island, and catch- Scotto menu; the family’s traditional Sunday sauce with penne and basil; ing fresh clams, fluke, and sea bass that we Anthony Scotto III, Daniel Faucetta prepare on the grill. Jr., and Louis Ruggiero Jr. help plate the meal; mother and RS: My husband, Lou, just opened a law office in daughter Elaina Scotto and Julia Southampton. Our children are excited because Faucetta. opposite page: Marion Scotto, Jenna Ruggiero, Rosanna they will get to spend more time out East. Our Scotto, Anthony Scotto Jr., Julia daughter, Jenna, who graduated from Bard has Faucetta, and Gabriella Scotto help fix a special Father’s Day meal. been work ing in Mont auk w it h Rufus Wa inw r ight. We’re already planning what we’re going to cook for him when he visits. Our son, L.J., graduated from the Dwight School. Your family also is very involved with Hamptons charities. RS: I am emceeing the Ellen Hermanson Foundation benefit on July 28. It’s an event with a lot of chefs from amazing restaurants as well as a wonderful way to get the word out about breast cancer. I know so many people who have had the disease and who have survived it, but I will never forget a friend who I lost from it. “OUR HOME IN THE HAMPTONS IS WHERE MY My family is also involved in the Lung Cancer Research Foundation Strides for Life event in the FA M ILY COMES TOGETHER.”—ANTHONY SCOTTO SR. Hamptons on August 12. A lot of families come together, and it’s a really inspirational day. What are some of the new projects home, cooking for the family. Sundays are a sacred What is the family’s plan for Father’s Day? Fresco by Scotto is launching? day in our house; Sunday is family mealtime. RS: The kids and the moms take over the kitchen. ES: We have pop-up Frescos at Goldman Sachs, What are those Sunday dinners like? Fresh mozzarella with tomato and basil, and J.P. Morgan, and PricewaterhouseCoopers. MS: I feel I am in charge of the kitchen. We pasta with our delicious Sunday sauce with meat- We’re associated with New York Water Taxi and discuss what we are going to cook. I do the balls are definitely on the menu. L.J. and his Manhattan by Sail to cater all boating events. shopping; Anthony Jr. handles the wines; cousins Danny and Anthony are really good on And did I mention all those lunch boxes with Elaina, Rosanna, and my husband, Anthony, the grill with steaks and chicken. We’ve been Gray Line bus tours? Our newest deal is with do the cooking. I am the boss, and I tell spoiled with all the local pies, so we will be pick- Live Nation to cater backstage at all concert ven- everybody what to do. And between you and ing up the blueberry cream at Briermere Farms. ues in the tri-state area, but what we are really me, nobody listens to me. ANTHONY SR.: Our home in the Hamptons looking forward to is going back to our roots in RS: I make a mean chicken cacciatore; I do a lot of means a great deal to all of us. This is where my Brooklyn. Thanks to the special man in my life, pasta dishes. I love to make orecchiette with broc- family comes together. And that makes my wife, Brett Yormark, we will have a strong presence at coli rabe and sausage. For my daughter Jenna, who Marion, and me happy and proud parents and the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. is a vegetarian, I make lentils with rice, carrots, grandparents. H

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