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In 1959, Alberto Salva opened York County’s first pizzeria and had to teach initiates how to eat this newfangled, handheld food.
Fast-forward to 2020. Alberto’s granddaughter, Toni Calderone, leads a team serving scratch-made pizza and other Italian-American favorites, all comforting in their familiarity. At Aviano’s Corner Trattoria & Bar, dishes are simple, satisfying, and fit for gatherings of family and friends.
Aviano’s opened in January 2020, adding a cozy, sit-down eatery to York’s blossoming Royal Square District. The trattoria is the latest concept from ONE Hospitality Group, operator of Tutoni’s Restaurant and other food and entertainment venues in York and Lititz.
While Tutoni’s offers authentic Italian cuisine in a special-occasion atmosphere, ONE Hospitality Group President & CEO Calderone recognized York’s need for a down-to-earth, Italian-American cousin. Aviano’s is named after the young son of Toni and ex-husband Tony Calderone, vice president of ONE Hospitality Group. The name puts a fourth-generation imprint on the eatery that emerged at Duke and King streets.
“It’s about celebrating that lineage of coming together over food, sharing that big table and breaking bread,” says Aviano’s co-owner Allison Witherow, chief marketing officer for ONE Hospitality Group.
The décor nods to modern chic while making deep curtseys to Italian-American heritage. Artfully hung photos show previous generations breaking bread or making pizza. Next to the pizza oven, you can’t miss the mural of Alberto himself, a handsome Tony Curtis type. On the opposite wall, Witherow’s ancestors gather around a table laden with food.
Aviano’s offers affordable, approachable dining. The by-the-glass wines are $7 each—that is, if you can look past the nice, $5 house Chianti. Cocktails include American and Italian-inspired classics, or a house creation like the Mary Berry—a vodka, raspberry liqueur, cranberry, lime, and bitters concoction named in honor of Toni Calderone’s grandmother. Global and Pennsylvania beers round out the beverage options.
The compact menu, devised by ONE Hospitality Group Executive Chef Dave Clarke, features Italian-American staples that have long anchored family get-togethers. Your appetizer might be the fresh bruschetta or the warm olives marinated in citrus, thyme, bay leaf, and chili.
The pasta menu serves up the classics with made-from-scratch pasta produced by Tutoni’s
Flour Shop. Spaghetti with beef and pork meatballs. Fettucine alfredo with grilled chicken and broccoli, or with the beef and pork ragu. Cheesy manicotti. Shrimp scampi spaghetti. The lasagna is staking its place as a signature dish.
“You can tell that a lot of care went into the lasagna,” says Witherow. “It goes into the wood-fired oven so everything crisps up around the edges.”
Paninis are popular lunch choices. The rustic, Neapolitan-style pizzas are charred in the wood-fired oven maintained at a consistent 800 degrees. Diners can even sit, bar-style, by the oven and watch their own pizzas being born. Inspiration for the toppings came from research trips to Italy.
“What we found is that Italian food is simple,” says Witherow. “There aren’t 500 ingredients. There are just a few things done really well that make them good.”
Build your own pizza or try such choices as the four cheese, roast pork, or classic margherita. The salami pizza balances zest and sweetness. The prosciutto and cantaloupe offers a refreshing spin on fruit-topped pizza. The tangy crimini mushroom pizza arrives with a surprise in the center–a soft-boiled egg that adds creaminess to your first bite. In warm weather, carry your pizza to the courtyard of The Cantina, the fun, Latin-inspired bar and restaurant adjoining Aviano’s.
Save room for an after-dinner drink like a boozy iced coffee and a dessert of tiramisu or a cannoli cupcake. The Aviano’s espresso bar opens at 9 a.m., two hours before lunch starts serving, giving the neighborhood a chance to kickstart the day with a drip coffee or an espresso, straight or gussied up as cappuccino, latte, Americano, or nitro cold brew.
At Aviano’s, the quest for simplicity complements and enhances the Royal Square District experience. Mosey through vintage shopping, craft-beer sipping, and gallery exploring. End the day by lingering over a well-made meal in no-fuss, family-friendly style.
“You don’t have to think twice about whether or not you want to come to Aviano’s for dinner,” says Witherow. “It’s a simple choice.”
Aviano’s Corner Trattoria & Bar
101 S. Duke Street, York, PA | 717-456-0218 | avianostrattoria.com
