For Solomon Siegel, Pagliacci’s Restaurant is more than a business.
“I grew up working here with my dad and uncle and this place has been like a second home for me,” said Siegel, who took over the management of the family-owned restaurant 10 years ago. “It’s warm and welcoming and I just love it…and I love that so many people love it too. It’s a special place.”
The restaurant was opened in 1979 by Solomon’s father Howie, and his brother David, who sadly passed away in 2018.
“The food has always been amazing and although we’ve been branded as an Italian restaurant, our menu is really more of ‘New York meets West Coast with an Italian flair,” said Solomon.
“The wonderful thing about Pagliacci’s is that, after 45 years, I have people coming up to me and telling me about the special times that they’ve had here. “People have gotten engaged, for example, or celebrated all manner of special times in their lives here and it’s made this place their place. That means a lot to me.”
That sort of legacy also comes with a responsibility.
“We’re sometimes sort of like curators here,” said Solomon, chuckling. “If we put some green onions on a long-time dish that hasn’t had green onions before, we hear about it.”
That’s not to say that the menu is static.
“We keep the old favourites but we’re always trying out new food, new cocktails and new bands.”
Bands?
Yes, bands.
One of the most amazing parts of Pagliacci’s is its legacy of providing live music in the restaurant.
“We’ve had live music for free for 45 years every Friday and Saturday night. Nowadays we tend to have it 7 nights a week,” said Solomon. “I’ve never come across another restaurant that does that.”
And while jazz music plays a big part in the musical fare at Pagliacci’s, Solomon said that they’ve developed a full list of bands that play at the restaurant, and they aren’t all jazz.
“We’ve done all kinds of music. We’ve done klezmer, and folk and other musical genres, but jazz is still the favourite.”
That music will play a big part of Pagliacci’s 45th-anniversary celebration on August 24 when they invite people to come down to the 1000 block of Broad Street between 4 and 10 pm for a free concert featuring Victoria's roots legends, The Bills as the headliners.
The celebration will be hosted by Master of Ceremonies, Terry David Mulligan and will feature live performances from a stellar roster of other artists as well, including The Marc Atkinson Trio, the Yiddish Columbia State Orchestra, Capital City Syncopators, Gene Hardy & Miles Black, The Sidewalk Blues Band (a tribute to Ken Hall) and many more.
None of this would be possible without the support of the community and the dedication of our staff,” said Solomon. “The staff are amazing and some of them have been working with us for my whole life.”
That sense of fun and family is palpable at Pagliacci’s Restaurant. From the tough guy phone message when you call the place to the fact that they don’t take reservations but tell you that, if there’s a lineup it’s the fastest line up in town.
“We will get you in, our living depends on it!” says the message.
We suspect, however that ‘getting you in’ has more to do with Solomon’s and the rest of the staff’s pride in providing a great dining experience to the customers they love.
