Giovanni’s

EXPERIENCE

Giovanni’s has been feeding Fairborn since 1953, and its end-of-the-month Sunday buffet feels thoroughly at home in that long Italian-American story. Pizzas and several kinds of pasta lead the spread, with chicken, vegetables and desserts giving the occasion the proportions of a Sunday family meal. This is the independent West Main Street restaurant, with decades of local history behind its name.

The DiPasquale family founded Giovanni’s, and several brothers took their turns running it. When Louie DiPasquale looked for someone to carry the restaurant forward, he chose Tony Spaziani, a friend from the Sons of Italy. Tony’s daughter Cassaundra later took over the day-to-day operation. That succession explains something more useful than an anniversary number: the business passed between families who already knew one another and cared about keeping it going.

Outside, the red-brick building wears a black awning and projecting cream signs announcing Giovanni’s Pizzeria and Ristorante Italiano. They suit a downtown restaurant that has had plenty of time to become familiar. Fairborn’s Main Street is part of the occasion, too; the buffet has coincided with downtown events, including a car show with extra outdoor seating. There is a nice fit between this old restaurant and a Sunday that brings people into town.

The buffet is a recurring monthly affair, so it belongs on the calendar. Its appeal is straightforward: the pizzeria opens up its Italian kitchen for a meal of stuffed pasta, pizza and Sunday-dinner staples. No elaborate reinvention required. Giovanni’s has a long enough story, and a generous enough Sunday menu, to carry the afternoon.