Venice Italian Kitchen & Delicatessen

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How we came to be Venice Italian Kitchen

Everyone has a story and we do too. But first, a little background info for you. Orlando’s family originally came over from Italy many years ago and opened quite a few restaurants in the Hampton Roads area; all of which served only authentic homemade Italian food. Orlando, having grown up in this business watched and learned from a very young age, and of course, though he ventured out into the world, ultimately, being a chef and sharing his talents with the community has always been his passion.

He and Alisia were childhood friends but because they were only 10 and 15 at the time, of course, they could not have the relationship they eventually would grow into. Her family lived around the corner from the Veneziano and became close friends. It was not unusual for Orlando and his sister to be seen hanging out with Alisia and her siblings after school and before work began on any given day. It was also not uncommon to walk into the Veneziano and see Alisia or her siblings hanging out with Orlando and his sister on any given day of the week in the booth, helping serve or clear tables, or even in the kitchen doing the dishes or trying to help prep in some way.

Of course life goes on, families grow and move forward. At some point, Alisia’s family moved to Pa. Time goes quickly and both Alisia and Orlando married others though their family friendship stayed in tact. They both married and made lives for themselves. When those relationships did not work out, and after having spent some time alone, they eventually found each other again on Facebook of all things... Imagine that! That was in 2009/2010.

Orlando, at that time, had been asked to take over the family restaurant and he did so with the help of Alisia. They ran the Veneziano Restaurant in Norfolk, Va. for 4 years together before it finally closed in 2013 due to family medical issues. It was quite a sad time, but had to be done...

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