Longtime regulars at one of Yorkville’s most cherished Italian institutions are nursing a bittersweet goodbye this week — after a man many of them have greeted across the better part of their adult lives clocked out for the final time.
The restaurant is Elio’s, the clubby mainstay at 1621 Second Avenue (near 84th Street), and the man is Pepe, a beloved member of the staff who has been part of the dining room for 35 years. In a tribute posted to Instagram, the restaurant announced that he had decided to retire, calling his last shift “the end of an era at Elio’s Restaurant.”
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The post recalled a question Pepe was once asked about how he managed to keep his patience after so many years on the job. His answer has the kind of warmth that explains why he lasted three and a half decades: “Every day when I come to work, the customers say good things to me. They love me and I love them.”Elio’s, which opened in 1981 and has long been a favorite of the neighborhood’s notables, thanked Pepe for “being a part of the Elio’s Famiglia these 35 years,” writing that his kindness and dedication “have been both an anchor and an inspiration to us all.” The restaurant said it was sending him off with its love and wishes for happiness as he spends more time with his wife and family.
The tribute closed with a line that loyal patrons are likely echoing into their next plate of pasta: “We miss you already.”
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