36 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • MAY 2018
2018
Long Island's Most Influential People
Victor Scotto
Scotto Brothers Restaurants and Catering
An iconic mastermind behind the sprawling Scotto Brothers restaurant, catering, and hotel group, Victor
Scotto personifies the American Dream. Victor, who was born in Southern Italy, in a small town near
Naples, stopped school to work full-time at age ten. He worked as a carpenter’s apprentice, to help his
father, who worked on a cargo ship, support the family. The young boy loved working in the shop,
building and creating things of beauty. By age 20, Victor had 7 people working under him.
Victor then immigrated to the United States, along with his family, speaking no English, and with very
little money. He started out working as a cabinet-maker in Brooklyn, working a second job as a busboy
in his uncle's restaurant - while also going to night school to learn English. His teacher, struck by how
quickly Victor was learning, predicted that he would go far... She was correct.
Within six years, Victor owned his own restaurant, along with his brothers and brother-in-law, Anthony,
Vincent, and Dominic: Scotto’s Restaurant & Pizzeria, in Port Washington. Victor physically renovated
the place himself, and built everything in it. Scotto Brothers Restaurants Inc. was established, and four
more pizzerias and three steakhouses quickly followed. With each acquisition, Victor's gift for design,
architecture, and construction served the family business well, playing an instrumental role in their rapid ascent. Victor personally renovated
each and every location, in some cases from just an empty shell.
The growing family portfolio then expanded to include the Chateau Briand - then a small, one-room catering house. Victor, once again, personally
led extensive renovations to the site. A bold and fateful move came next: Unwilling to serve mediocre food to a guest, Victor and his brothers
determined that they would serve fine, a la carte-quality cuisine at their large, catered events - a feat which, previously, had been thought to be a
sheer impossibility. The Chateau Briand quickly came to set a new standard in the industry, and skyrocketed the Scotto Brothers to fame.
The Westbury Manor and Fox Hollow catering facilities were then acquired and followed suit, gaining comparable exalted status. Rounding out
the family's legacy in the hospitality industry, Scotto Brothers then expanded into the hotel sector, building The Inn at Fox Hollow in 2002. A
second hotel, the Hampton Inn, was built in Princeton, N.J.
In 1999, Victor was invited to Las Vegas, to open Zeffirino, an ultra-luxury fine dining restaurant, catering to celebrities and high-rollers, in the
brand-new Venetian Hotel & Casino. Victor went on to open two more restaurants in the Planet Hollywood Hotel & Casino, as well as several
other establishments in Las Vegas, all of them highly successful.
Most recently, Victor has taken over operation of Seventh Street Cafe, his much-loved Italian trattoria in Garden City, renowned for its highly-acclaimed
Regional Italian cuisine, which he built 25 years ago. Victor can look back with much pride and satisfaction over the past 50 years, in
which, from the most humble of beginnings, he has risen to the very pinnacle of his field, revolutionizing an industry and creating an empire.
Dear Victor ~ Dad ~ Papa,
You have never been one to seek praise or accolades...
You have always been the one working quietly, behind the scenes - but with enormous dedication, incredible creativity, and true genius - silently
catapulting Scotto Brothers - and all of us - higher and higher.
You richly deserve this honor today, and every honor that could be bestowed upon you.
You possess the diverse talents, abilities, and knowledge (not to mention the energy!) of several highly successful men combined.... and, we - every
one of us in your family - are truly amazed by all that you have done, all that you do, and all that you are.
You have sacrificed tremendously - and continue to do so - to give us all so much...
We appreciate you, respect you, and love you - more than you know.
Love, Brooke, Victoria, Alexis, Katelyn, Jennifer, James, Veronica, Benjamin, Elizabeth, Joseph, Leonardo, Victor Jr., Lucy, and Lily