A Passion is Born
My name is Ciro Parlato, and I was born and raised in Corbara, a small town between the Amalfi Coast and Napoli.

My passion for cooking and hospitality began even before I was able to walk. Due to my parents’ extremely busy work schedules, I spent much of my early life with my maternal grandparents. My grandmother, Anna, was an excellent home cook and the owner of a Salumeria (the proper name for an Italian deli).

I have vivid memories of crawling around the serving tables of her shop and playing in her kitchen under the pasta preparation counter where she would make many varieties of pasta fresh daily. In fact, many of my first toys were fashioned from fresh pasta scraps.

I have been working in the food industry for over 24 years and have immersed myself in the local culinary traditions of over 13 Italian regions. I’ve also worked in a variety of culinary environments - from preparing meals for pre-school aged children to the finest Michelin starred kitchens, each experience has contributed to the professional chef I am today.

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Coming to America
In early December 2012, I was sipping an espresso at a café in Pompeii when I overheard “Miami” mentioned by two young locals who were leaving for Florida in 10 days. It was in that moment that I knew I was ready for a new challenge.

On 12/12/12, 10 days after I met those two guys, I followed them to the United States. First settling in Florida, where I worked as the Executive Chef of an Italian restaurant in Miami Beach. While in Miami, I decided to go to school to learn proper English and one of the professors, to whom I became very close with, was from Oak Park. After one visit to Oak Park, I fell in love with the community and eventually decided to relocate. In September 2016, once I was settled, I began working as a private chef and part-time butcher at a local farm to table shop.

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Building Ciro
During my time as a private chef, I noticed that requests for my service grew rapidly. My clients appreciated my commitment to Italian traditions and it was incredibly rewarding seeing the joy my cooking brought them. At the same time, I quickly realized that this type of work had its limitations. In order to execute my vision properly, I would have to spend hours in each client’s kitchen making elements of the meal from scratch. I knew this approach wasn’t practical long-term and I soon began dreaming of building my own kitchen lab.

As a first step toward opening my own business, I decided that I needed to gain some ‘front of house’ experience. For three years I worked as a server and event host at Eataly Chicago. While working at Eataly, customers would often suggest that I open my own place, and I began to think deeper about this possibility.

During the Summer of 2020, at the height of the pandemic, I flew back to my hometown to get inspiration and complete the business plan for Ciro, setting the opening for September 2023, on Pleasant Street in Oak Park.

After securing the necessary funding, and enduring months of construction, my dream finally became a reality. On September 26, 2023, Ciro opened its doors to customers for the first time and was warmly embraced by the community. I couldn’t be more appreciative of the support you’ve all shown so far.

This is only the beginning of a long and exciting journey.

Grazie Mille,

Ciro Parlato