Bridgewater Father, Son Dream Of Opening Girasole Restaurant Continues 29 Years Later

BOUND BROOK, NJ — It's been 29 years since Bridgewater father and son Alfonso and Robert Russo achieved their dream of opening Girasole Restaurant.

The Italian family BYO restaurant at 502 W Union Ave. in Bound Brook, known for serving contemporary and classic Italian cuisine in a modern and elegant setting, recently celebrated their anniversary on Oct. 19.

With Alfonso now gone, their dream continues to live on through Robert.

"I'm just extremely grateful for our customers and how they have been supporting us for the last 29 years. Especially in an area of New Jersey where every town is fortunate enough to have so many really good restaurants, and we have people coming to us every single week, supporting us weekly. And we are just extremely grateful for that," said Russo.

The Russo family had lived in Avellino, Italy, just outside of Naples, where Alfonso owned a restaurant. It wasn't until 1980 that they moved to Bridgewater after an earthquake devastated their whole town.

Robert Russo was only 12 years old when they immigrated overseas, but was always destined to follow in the family business.

"It's just one of those things where if you have it in your blood, there's really nothing you could do. You could try to go to college and become something that you're not, or you could do what God wanted you to be and continue in the restaurant industry like my father did," said Russo to Patch.

Russo followed in his father's footsteps and started working in restaurants in addition to going to high school.

Alfonso was a chef at many great restaurants in the area, including the original La Cucina in Somerville, Max's in Raritan, and Vincenzo's in Middlesex.

That was until the father and son duo found an opportunity to open their own Italian restaurant at 500 W Union Ave. in Bound Brook, which is next to their current location.

"We just decided to take a shot. It was kind of small and a small investment, so we said, 'All right, what's the worst that can happen if it doesn't work?'" said Russo. "Thankfully, it worked out for us."

Over the years, they moved to the adjacent property at 502 W Union Ave. and also purchased more property to complete an addition and expand from serving 50 seats to 100.

The restaurant has become a staple in the community with families with Russo saying their secret to success is their hospitality.

"Well, the food is always extremely important, but I think hospitality is number one in my opinion," said Russo. "A good 85 percent of the people who walk into a restaurant are repeat customers. We know them by name. They know us by name. We know about each other's families."

Russo added that one of the most humbling things for him is seeing the generations of the families he has served evolve and grow.

"We have done parties for guests who now have kids, or their kids are having kids. We are hosting christenings for their own children," said Russo. "When you hear 29 years, you see a lot of that. We've had generations of guests who have been coming here for their own personal, private events. And that's really, really awesome to see."

Russo added that it is "humbling" to be able to run a successful business for decades.

"29 years later, our weekends are still booked a couple of weeks in advance. And we still fill the place up on a nightly basis. It really is very humbling to hear when people talk about us as their favorite restaurant, that really brings me so much joy, because I believe that being a person's favorite anything is incredibly humbling. It's really been very rewarding for us."

For more information on Girasole Restaurant, visit girasoleboundbrook.com or facebook.com.

Have a news tip? Email alexis.tarrazi@patch.com.