FOUNTAIN HILL, Pa. — What's a wine bar without the wine?
That's no longer an issue, Giacomo and Victoria Sgroi, owners at Tinto Tapas & Pasta at 1028 Broadway, Fountain Hill, said.
Their newest full-service restaurant opened in March but only recently secured its liquor license.
"We didn't really want to open, but we got forced to open to try and speed up the liquor license," Giacomo Sgroi said.
"We didn't want to advertise a grand opening then because of the confusion of first being BYOB and then getting a liquor license. So we had to do four months of BYOB.
"Now we have a liquor license. Some people, like, love it, some people, like, don't and want to bring their own bottle."
So effective immediately, Tinto Tapas & Pasta will allow BYOB — wines only — on Sundays, he said, as a compromise.
Tinto in Italian means stained or tinted, like red wine, and although the Italian word for small dishes is "piattini," the couple kept it relatable with the better-known Spanish term, tapas.
The former Nonna Sulina's executive chef and his wife will hold a grand opening at their newest full-service restaurant from 4-6 p.m. Thursday, July 31.
Originally a hotel built in 1895, the place most recently was known as the Benner Street Restaurant and Bar.
It even was featured on Food Network's "Restaurant: Impossible" in 2013, with celebrity chef Robert Irvine lending his expertise to help revitalize the business.
'Listen to Frankie, have a couple of drinks'
After losing their previous popular Hanover Township, Northampton County, restaurant, Nonna Sulina's, to a fire in July 2024, the Sgrois have made their next place, this historic location, their own.
There are five dining and lounge spaces that include a second-floor exposed deck with umbrellas and wicker seating, and a lower-level garden room.
The upstairs lounge/martini is open Thursdays through Saturdays and is available for private parties.
It's a perfect space for fantasy football gatherings, said the chef, with its masculine high-backed club chair seating and full bar with televisions ambiance.
"Listen to some Frankie and have a couple of drinks, you know?" he said.
The space can be rented out for $45, $65 or $85 for the higher-end food package, Victoria Sgroi said.
There's also a lower-level private party room available with buffet station option, along with an intimate seated wine bar.
Tinto Tapas & Pasta is open Wednesdays through Saturdays 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sundays 1 p.m. to 10 p.m.
"We have to go to church, you know," Giacomo Sgroi said of the later opening on Sundays.
The couple met 16 years ago when she was a waitress and he cooked at Penn Pizza on Cedar Crest Boulevard in Allentown.
Now they're married and have two children. She's from Coopersburg. He's from Sicily.
It's no surprise to walk into Tinto and find Giacomo putting together a lunch offering such as smoked mozzarella and prosciutto-stuffed gnocchi, six on a plate with a carbonara sauce.
"Everybody loves carbonara," he said.
Success, expansion and a health scare
The couple had Nonna Sulina's for four years, then opened an Italian market besides.
"My dad used to run it," Giacomo Sgori said. "He would come in in the morning, prep at the restaurant, and I would be at the market, and then we'd switch.
"But then he had a heart attack...and he had to slow down. So at the last minute, he decided he wanted to move back to Sicily."
Then the fire happened.
No longer connected to the market, the couple assure that there are good people running it now — in fact, someone Victoria Sgroi knew from high school.
The pair said they need time to get Tinto Tapas & Pasta up to speed the way Nonna Sulina's once was.
"To be honest, it's been brutal," Giacomo Sgori said. "We thought we were going to have a different impact. Thank God our landlord didn't charge us rent until the liquor license was secured."
"We never had that big impact, that boom, and things have crawled along very slowly.
"We struggle, not a struggle like we can't buy our food, can't pay our rent, but this place is big. Last night, we had 70 people in here, but it looked a little empty because we have all the different spaces.
"With each room, we'd need a hundred people in each space to look like, 'Wow, this place is hopping.'"
Ten days before Mother's Day, he said his lawyer called with good news: The liquor license was a go.
Timing is everything
"We were jumping up and down," Sgori said. "The next day, it was back to square one.
"We went to buy liquor, and it showed pending citations. The worst timing. If you can get 300-400 people in for Mother's Day with a liquor license, that's the rollover you need."
"It's gonna get better as we go."Tinto Tapas & Pasta Executive Chef Giacomo Sgroi
The couple is working hard coming up with avenues to rebuild their reputation in a new land.
"Musikfest back in the day, it was even all the way up here," Sgori said. "Now, it's all the way down to the [Sands]. So all the businesses that used to make money during Musikfest, it's no more.
"Every year it gets further and further away."
The couple said they hope to get the attention of Lehigh University parents and alumni weekend opportunities.
They check campus bulletin boards for connections while a sommelier finishes up the task of creating the wine and food pairing menu, which is coming soon.
"It's gonna get better and better as we go," Sgroi aid. "We're going to have lots of wine to choose from."
