/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/38899014/7048481481_440aab32cd.0.jpg)
Like any anxious twenty-something, Spiaggia and Cafe Spiaggia have many things they'd like to accomplish before they turn 30. After a few bottles of wine and lots of brainstorming, Tony Mantuano and staff compiled a list of 30 things they'd like to check off their bucket list before the clock hits 30. Many items on the "30 Before 30" list are new wrinkles, designs, and fun events to keep an eye on before their birthdays hit next spring.
Mantuano cites changing times for much of the list. "Things have changed so much that what was important in 1984 doesn't seem that important (now)," he says. "You were crazy in 1984 to want to do fine dining Italian, there was nothing like that. That same passion and philosophy still is true at Spiaggia but things like throwing a beach party is something we always wanted to do."
But the list isn't just fun and games, it also includes big changes like an interior redesign, new uniforms, stamping their logo on pasta, and all sorts of menu tweaks and additions. Spiaggia opened April 13, 1984, Friday the 13th, which is "often considered an unlucky day in America but obviously lucky for us and also a lucky number in Italy," Mantuano says.
The last item is a call to action for Spiaggia guests. They're taking suggestions on their Facebook page until August 30.
Check out the full list below.
1. Redesign of Spiaggia and Cafe Spiaggia
2. Work with illy usa to design a limited edition Spiaggia 30th anniversary espresso cup
3. New designer uniforms for service team in dining room and cafe
4. Make a signature Spiaggia honey with Mieli Thun
5. New website
6. Spiaggia Corzetti (pasta stamp)
7. Business cards for dining room captains
8. Serve most popular comida dish in Cafe for one night
9. Serve risotto from a wheel of Parmigiano with White Truffle on the Spiaggia Bar
10. Serve a whole swordfish on the Spiaggia Bar
11. Host Nadia Santini for dinner at Spiaggia
12. Create the ultimate Italian burger for the Cafe menu
13. Team members create new gelato flavor and favorite is put on the menu
14. Pour prosecco from a Nebuchadnezzar to guests in all three venues in one night
15. Brand a Spiaggia amaro
16. Turn the wine clock back 30 years, for one night, and offer wines at 1984 prices
17. Fundraiser for Il Rigoletto (Michelin starred restaurant where Sarah Grueneberg trained and was damaged in the May 2012 Earthquakes in Reggio Emilia)
18. Take a field trip to Academy for Global Citizenship
19. Participate in Polar bear plunge and give out warm beverage to participants
20. Throw a beach party marking the Italian Ferragosto
21. Play funk music for one night in Spiaggia
22. Movie night in Spiaggia Private Events featuring Italian black & white films
23. Spiaggia management team trip to Italia
24. Closing night party at Spiaggia
25. Team-bonding Spiaggia fishing trip
26. Change NYE party structure—throw a party instead of seated dinners
27. 3000 Facebook likes and Twitter followers
28. Tony throws out first pitch at a Chicago Cubs game
29. Have someone from Lyric Opera sing live on a select night in Spiaggia
30. Feedback from guests (TBD)
· All Spiaggia Coverage [-ECHI-]
· Spiaggia [Official Site]