CENTRAL LAKEVIEW — One thing is certain: If you're going to run a restaurant under the Pompei name, you've got to do it "the Pompei way."
That's why Ralph Davino said he reopened Pompei on Sheffield 11 years after selling the business. The restaurant came to a bitter end in 2012, followed by some intrafamily turmoil. The landlord converted the 2955 N. Sheffield Ave. location into City Dough, which closed in May 2014.
"They didn't do it the Pompei way, and that's why they went bankrupt. But the original people are back, and that's what counts. The response has been really nice," Davino said.
Now the Italian menu and flare are back, but in a newly remodeled, streamlined venue.
The Davino patriarch, Luigi Davino, opened the first Pompei in 1909, near Our Lady of Pompei Church in Little Italy. The restaurant and its neighboring bakery passed from father to son to nephew, with Davinos living in apartments above the establishments.
Ralph Davino took over Pompei Bakery in 1984 after running a tavern on Taylor Street. Originally a carry-out location with two seats, the bakery expanded in a new Western Avenue location. Two years after he opened Pompei on Sheffield in 1997, Davino built the current Taylor Street building and opened additional locations in Oakbrook, Schaumburg and downtown.
He sold everything except the Taylor Street location in 2004, but the Davinos returned to Sheffield in February with a soft opening. A ribbon-cutting ceremony is planned for 11 a.m. Tuesday.
"The response has been really nice. We've been in the business for a long time, my family, and we've got a pretty good reputation," Davino said.
Once Pompei on Sheffield is running smoothly again, Davino said he plans to expand to a third Pompei, possibly in Bucktown, Evanston or near the University of Chicago.
"I like to get a feel for where I'm at, so once I've got a feeling and I like it and the neighborhood, then that's where my business is" going to be, he said.
Meanwhile, Davino has returned to his roots, living in an apartment above the restaurant that has been his family's lifeblood for four generations.
"It's just like my family. My daughter works with me, my son, my grandmother, my wife," he said. "We're pretty family-oriented."
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