SNOQUALMIE – The story of Gianfranco Ristorante owner Gianfranco Bafaro’s coming to America could probably be told by millions of other Italians who ventured to this country, but the tale will likely never lose its flavor.

In 1979, 22-year-old Bafaro moved to Seattle with his then wife who was from the city. He had only $95 to his name, but came armed with an extensive wealth of knowledge and background in the restaurant business that he had worked in since he was 14. He went to work in what he said was one of three Italian restaurants in Seattle, all of which served food Bafaro would have nothing to do with.

“I never ate anything from their menu,” he said. “To do the real thing, you have to be from there.”

Convinced he could do it better, Bafaro opened a restaurant in the basement of a house in the University District in 1985 called Il Paesano with Calabria Ristorante in Kirkland following in 1988. He opened another in Issaquah called Il Monello in 1993, that he would eventually sell in 1996 along with Il Paesano. Bafaro even opened up a restaurant back in Italy called Seattle that his brother runs.

When Bafaro was looking to expand again, he remembered a trip he had taken to Snoqualmie Falls when he first moved to Seattle. He thought Snoqualmie was beautiful and reminded him of his hometown of Calabria in the hills of southern Italy.

He found a spot on Railroad Avenue and opened up Gianfranco Ristorante in April of 2002. It has since become one of the premier eateries in the Valley. Bafaro plans to expand this fall, adding a bar and seating for about 75 people. Eventually, Gianfranco should have a patio out back for people to enjoy during the summer. The Snoqualmie restaurant – Bafaro splits his time between Gianfranco and the Kirkland location – has become a community investment as well as a business one.

“I like the small community here,” Bafaro said. “I came from a town of 5,000 and it reminds me of there.”

All through the years of culinary pursuits, Bafaro has raised his four children to appreciate not only Italian food, but the culture. He has sent his three oldest children back to Italy for anywhere from a couple months to a couple years to stay with family and attend school. Bafaro’s oldest child, Maria, is in Italy attending fashion school and his second oldest daughter, Rosanna, will graduate this week from the University of Washington with a degree in Italian and International Studies.

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