Ever since he was 6 years old, Chuck Palanza wanted to own the restaurant his great-grandfather, Edward, started.
Now, at the age of 40, he is getting his wish.
Palanza’s Restaurant was started in Sunnyland by Chuck’s great-grandfather, Edward Palanza, in 1957.
“He died before I was born, so I never met him,” Chuck said.
Through four generations, the restaurant has been handed down like a family heirloom.
Chuck and his brother, Robert, are the fourth generation of owners. Prior to that, their uncle, Chris Palanza, operated the restaurant for 28 years. Chris took over the restaurant from his parents, Elmer and Erma Palanza.
Chris, an avid sailor, purchased a yacht and fulfilled a long time dream of island life. By fulfilling his dream, Chris opened the door for his nephews to fulfill theirs.
Chuck said Chris’ daughter, Angie, called and informed Robert the restaurant would be for sale. Robert immediately called Chuck, who was living in Las Vegas for the past 12 years.
“Bob called me and asked me if I wanted to move back to Peoria, and I said, ‘There’s nothing there for me. He said, ‘Do you want to run the restaurant?’, I said, ‘OK, when do we start?’”
Chuck said he worked at Palanza’s in the ’80s when he was a teen.
“I used to help my uncle out during the summer,” Chuck said.
The family restaurant was a large part of Chuck’s youth. In fact, Chuck used to live with his parents directly behind the restaurant. Living so close, Chuck said his family ate there about three times a week. Chuck’s father, Chuck Sr., also ran Palanza’s for about five years before taking a job with an airline.
Chuck’s family eventually moved to St. Louis. Chuck Sr. worked for the airport. After being laid off from Caterpillar in the 80s, his mother got a job in St. Louis.
When Chuck informed his parents, who now live in Florida, of his plans to take over the restaurant, they had mixed feelings. Chuck said he was going to move with his fiance, Megan Ferrell, and his three children, Christopher, Nicholas and Collin, to Florida to be closer to his parents.
“My mom was a little upset because we had planned on moving to Florida, so she won’t get to see the grandkids as much. But, other than that, she’s ecstatic.
“(My dad) was very supportive. He said if that’s what you want to do, whatever you need. He did say, ‘We may come up and kidnap the grandkids for the summer.”
Robert and Chuck could not bear the thought of letting the restaurant go.
“My brother and I always wanted to own the restaurant. We didn’t want it to be run by somebody other than a Palanza,” Chuck said, adding that Robert, who lives in St. Louis, purchased the business and he began running it for him May 1.
“It’s kind of a 50/50 deal,” he said.
Chuck did not have much to learn since he was already familiar with the restaurant.
“Pretty much, I already knew how to cook everything there. My uncle was here for the first month and showed me everything. He said I was good to go after two weeks,” Chuck said. “As far as running a business, I’ve run them for the past 20 years. As far as being a manager, it’s never been a problem for me.”
On June 24, Chuck was sitting inside the establishment eating dinner with some employees. His favorite thing to eat there is pizza.
Palanza’s is best known for its pizza, fried chicken and homemade vinegar and oil salads, Chuck said. They make their own sausage, sauces and dough. His great-grandfather brought the sauce recipe from Italy.
“I can’t make cheese. Other than that, probably 80 percent of the menu ingredient-wise is made in the house.
The Italian foods the restaurant offers are its staple, but over time, they have expanded to offer other dishes.
“It’s become more family-style than Italian. We have steaks, ribeyes, hotwings, more of
American-style food. Most of the customers like it, and I don’t plan on changing it. And I’m not going to take away any of the Italian food, either, because that’s what we started with.”
However, Chuck is not afraid to try something new.
“Actually, we’re bringing out a new special next week, a burgundy peppercorn filet. It’s a beef tenderloin. That’s what they make filet mignon out of. It’s even more tender than prime rib,” Chuck said.
Palanza’s offers half-price wings on Wednesdays. They also serve beer and wine to wash down wings or pasta.
Being a one-and-only restaurant that has been in existence for 52 years, it has attracted regular customers.
“We have people who come in from Eureka and people from Tremont who come once a week. People come over the river from Peoria,” Chuck said.
“Most of them remember me from being a kid being at the restaurant. A few of them babysat me,” Chuck said with a laugh. “It’s kind of weird coming back. Most of them remember me or my father. He grew up here. He went to Bradley. He was born and raised here. Even when I lived down in St. Louis, I would come up once a month and stay with my uncle and be at the restaurant three or four days.”
Now, Chuck is seeing the inside of Palanza’s much more. He said he puts in 70 to 80 hours a week.
His Aunt, “Tuna” Pierce, his dad’s sister, gives him a little relief and runs the restaurant two nights a week.
Palanza’s is open 4 to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 4 to 10 p.m. Friday, noon to 10 p.m. Saturday and noon to 9 p.m. Sunday.
Every fourth Friday of the month through the summer, a classic car show is hosted at the business.
In the near future, Chuck said they will do some remodeling of the restaurant. Old art pieces will come down and new family pictures will go up.
“We’ve been there since ’57, and we’re proud of it, but we need to let other people know about it as well,” Chuck said.
As far as the distant future, Chuck said he is already grooming his son, Christopher, for the fifth generation of restaurant ownership.
“I’m hoping my oldest, Christoper, would be interested. That’s my plan. I figure I have to start training him now,” he said. “He’s named after my grandfather and his first name after (Uncle) Chris. Family’s a big part of my life. We’re a very, very close knit family and always have been.”
East Peoria, Ill. —
