The history of Oliverio's Restaurant

March 25, 2011 - PRLog -- In 1965, Sonny and Shirley Oliverio founded Oliverio's Restaurant by purchasing property and a small existing building located in Bridgeport, West Virginia. Sonny and his father, Pete, remodeled the building, adding seating for up to twenty-three people. The restaurant opened in March of 1966 and was named, "Sonny's Restaurant." The first menu was very basic, serving ice cream, pizzas, and hoagies. At the time, Sonny's was one of four restaurants in Bridgeport.

In 1968, another addition was added to the restaurant that brought the seating capacity up to holding 50 people. Restaurant competition began to increase in the 1980's and Sonny's felt the effects as business slowed down from it's booming start.

The restaurant was closed in May of 1988 due to a fire in the kitchen that caused damage to the entire building. The decision was made to renovate the entire building, which took about five months. Shirley was very influential in the changes that were made, and in September, the new restaurant opened. The building had a completely new look, a new concept, and the name changed to "Oliverio's Ristorante." Everything was different except the food and the service--those remained top notch.

People began to flock to Oliverio's loving the new all-you-can-eat bread sticks and salad. WIth the newfound popularity, Oliverio's began to outgrow its capacity. In the fall of 1992, the latest renovation took place, this time, Sonny and Shirley's son Pete was the architect. He designed a large front dining room, bar and entry, expanding the overall capacity to 210 people.

Since then, a banquet hall called Via Veneto has been created, which is located between Bridgeport and Anmoore. In 2001, Oliverio's second full-service restaurant was created in Morgantown's newly renovated Wharf District. This eatery is within walking distance to area hotels and downtown.  In 2008, our most recent project, Oliverio’s Marketplace, is a more casual eatery.  Located on Van Voorhis Drive, the menu features the Italian cuisine with the ease and convenience of quick service.

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Oliverios Restaurant
52 Clay Street, Morgantown, WV 26501-5932
(304) 296-2565 ‎
www.oliveriosristorante.com