Archived Article By Tom Fitzmorris Originally published February 19, 2007 "Mr. John" Santopadre, 1928-2007 John Santopadre, the man for whom Mr. John's Ristorante and Cafe Giovanni are named, died over the weekend. He was eighty-three. Mr. John (that's what everybody called him) was in the second generation of New Orleans-Italian families who came here from Sicily in the late 1800s and early 1900s. His original business--memorialized in a sign painted on a wall in Cafe Giovanni--was Tip-Top Shoe Repair. He branched from there into many other businesses, quite a few in the food arena. He owned Tastee Donuts, Smilie's, and Cafe Giovanni (which he sold to Chef Duke Locicero a few years ago), and continued to own and manage Mr. John's Steakhouse on St. Charles Avenue. You always knew when Mr. John was in his restaurant--as he often was. All you had to do was pick out the best-dressed man in the place, and that was him. He had a great deal of style, and liked to express it. Never content to leave even a talent like Chef Duke alone, he always had opinions about the menu and service. In recent years, he suffered a sting of tragedies, most notably the untimely death of his son, who had taken over the management of the family's restaurants. It wasn't long after that Mr. John began to sell the restaurants off. Even so, he was very proud of Mr. John's Ristorante. It is the best steakhouse in town, if you ask me. And the addition of a full Italian menu after the hurricane was just the kind of offbeat idea Mr. John liked to suggest--and see put into force. His standards will live on. Classy guy. © 2007 Tom Fitzmorris. All rights reserved. news@nomenu.com