Rastrelli’s Restaurant was started by Pete and Ida Rastrelli, my father and mother. Dad, an Italian immigrant from the small town of Fornaci De Barga in the Tuscany region of Italy, came across the ocean to settle in the land of opportunity. Mom, the child of Italian immigrants who were from the same region as Dad, was born in Chicago. Life was not easy for either of my parents. Knowing very little English, Dad was blessed that his trade was working with his hands. With the help of his sister and two brothers, Dad found his way to Chicago and put his talent to use as a candy maker. At an early age, Mom was orphaned and shortly afterwards adopted by her aunt Emma from Sterling, Illinois. While looking for a job, Dad found an opening in a small town west of Chicago. The opening was for a candy maker in Clinton, Iowa at the Marcucci Candy Shop. Mom was a soft, loving person who had a desire to help people. With these characteristics, she entered nurses training at St. Joseph’s Mercy Hospiital in Clinton, Iowa. One day, these two met in the candy shop and fell in love, ah amori! In 1929 they married and started a family.