La Lanterna di Vittorio Employee Support Fund

42 years ago, Carlo Antonini and his wife Nicla, two immigrants from a small beach town in Ligura, Italy, started a Coffee Bar in the heart of a bustling and Bohemian Greenwich Village in downtown New York City.  As their community and clientele grew over the years, second generation owner, Vittorio Antonini, pushed the concept further every chance he had.  He built dining rooms, added a vast but carefully curated wine and liquor program, and expanded the kitchen and menu to suit changing tastes, while of course maintaining the charm of the founder’s beginnings ;-).   A fifth of the way through the new millennium, now as a Pizzeria, Enoteca, Jazz Club and Coffee Bar (and in our third generation!), we stand at a momentous inflection point.  

During the state-wide Coronavirus shutdown, we will all be pushed to our limits.  We have been open though acts of terror, every major blizzard, natural disaster and recession since 1977.   We have taken immense pride in helping to anchor everyone passing through our orbit- the academics, romantics, expatriated Europeans, locals, and tourists… the cooks, waiters, managers, sales reps and bartenders alike.  There is just something so different about this situation.  The unseen, unknowable danger we are confronted with has created a real challenge even for the most resilient of us.  How can we help our employees and customers, if they cannot get to us and we cannot get to them?

We firmly intend to reopen all of our rooms and resume live jazz at Bar Next Door as soon as it deemed safe to do so.  While we are ramping up the delivery services that will allow us to put some of our staff to work, and until this threat passes, they need your help. 

Some of you know our staff personally.  You know they are the lifeblood of our restaurant and right now they are unable to work.   Some of you also know us, Vittorio Sr and Jr, and you know that we would not ask, if it was not truly imperative. 

Please consider making a contribution to our fundraiser so that we can continue to be a rock for them all. 

We understand that making a contribution may not be possible and would greatly appreciate any effort to spread the word to your friends and family.   We are very grateful for your support and very much looking forward to sharing our passion for coffee, pizza, wine, and live jazz with you when we are able to reopen. 

May God keep you all safe and healthy.   

THANK YOU

Vittorio Jr. and Sr.