Sclavi's Restaurant & Bar | TwinPortsNightOut

Sclavi’s Italian Restaurant & Bar

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Sclavi's Restaurant & Bar - 1106 Tower Avenue - (715) 531-5600 | TwinPortsNightOut.com

Sclavi’s Restaurant & Bar – 1106 Tower Avenue – (715) 531-5600

Locally Owned Restaurant Steps It Up!

Sclavi’s Italian Restaurant & Bar is located at 1106 Tower Ave in downtown Superior. This spot originally opened in 2009 as a fine dining establishment with an eclectic menu as Sclavi’s Restaurant, and closed it’s doors in 2011 due to start-up challenges.

Sclavis Specials Twin Ports Night Out©After the Tower Ave Redevelopment wrapped up last summer, previous and new family members collaborated on re-opening Sclavi’s with a simplified concept of la famiglia Italian cuisine, i.e., family cuisine. Upon my first visit I was advised that many of the recipes were original Sclavi family home-cooking concoctions, making their menu a true labor of love.

Sclavis Drinks2 Twin Ports Night Out©Sclavi’s offers craft cocktails, small batch sauces and nightly specials that feature locally sourced ingredients, from local businesses whenever possible. The impassioned, yet business minded-launch in October 2014 was welcomed by the public as another dining option in the downtown area.

Best known for their Alfredo sauce, they also feature “Gino’s Original” as they call it, a red sauce using their Grandfather’s original recipe. The Sclavi family comes by their food heritage naturally, as their Grandfather Gino was the owner of the first pizzeria in Superior on Broadway & Ogden back in the 60’s. (They do not offer pizza however, so you’ll need to go to V.I.P. or Thirsty Pagan for that fix.)

Sclavi's Porketta Hero Twin Ports Night Out©

Sclavi’s Porketta Hero

On a recent visit we were lucky to be served by “Mom,” the mother of Dan and Anthony Sclavi, who was most a gracious and warm host. She guided our party through the menu, until we selected four different pastas that appealed to our various tastes. When quizzed about the Chinese placemats and chopsticks on the table, she explained that similar to the off-beat attitude of the restaurant in general, the Asian notes were a nod to her previous career as a waitress at a Chinese restaurant. The menu is pure Italian however.

We enjoyed the house wine, served in a juice glass of sorts, an Italian tradition not often seen in American restaurants. Our salads came prior to our entrees and featured their delicious house dressing, along with tasty bread on the side. Upon finishing our salad course, Mom brought our steaming pastas to the table, and we all dug in immediately. At the end of the meal we all agreed that we had been well served in both the gustatory and hospitality departments. Our only critique was that there were no chocolate options on the dessert menu that evening, but we’ll give them another opportunity to fulfill our need for chocolate during future visits. (Note: we motored down Tower after dinner to Sweeden Sweets and enjoyed an ice cream cone nightcap!)

In October of 2014, when Sclavi’s reopened, previous customers were thrilled to see the spot come back to life, as were newcomers who appreciated the diversity of menu and drink options. The restaurant features fresh fish, steaks and chops sourced locally, and a new and imaginative drink menu. Many patrons agree that the pasta sauces rival cuisine found in New York and Chicago according to many regular patrons.

Brothers Dan and Anthony Sclavi, proprietors of Sclavi’s where they features hand-crafted soups and sauces as well as cocktails hearkening back to yesteryear | Explore Superior

Brothers Dan and Anthony Sclavi, proprietors of Sclavi’s where they features hand-crafted soups and sauces as well as cocktails hearkening back to yesteryear

Sclavi’s owners, Dan and Anthony Sclavi, pride themselves on their hand-crafted family recipes. They use high quality imported products from Italy and aim to offer an exciting rush of flavors in a fun, comfortable atmosphere.

The ambiance of Sclavi’s is that of a “ristorante” found in the Little Italy districts of such historically Italian populated enclaves in New York and Chicago, but with the familiar comfort of a small city. Their goal is to be warm, friendly, a bit brash and a place where people know each other, patrons and establishment alike. During our visit it was apparent that the family has many friends in Superior as one table after another called Anthony over to say hello.

Sclavis Meatballs Twin Ports Night Out©

Sclavis Meatballs

It has been a roller coaster of business for this restaurant in their first year back in business. The brothers told me their initial opening brought a huge response, with loyal patrons making frequent visits, and new customers finding the comfortable dining room in droves. The challenge of course for any Superior based restaurant is the dreaded “down season”…meaning the cold months of January through March that habitually make for empty dining rooms across our fair city. Many a restaurant has failed in Superior over the years for want of clientele in the depths of winter.

Sclavi’s owners and crew rose to the challenge however by running with minimum staff, offering deeply discounted promo specials, and by focusing on customer satisfaction. Recently the owners made a bold move, calling upon the community for support via their Facebook account, asking that residents think twice before driving over the bridge to the corporate restaurants located in the Miller Hill area and Canal Park.

Sclavi's features an innovative drink menu | Explore Superior

Sclavi’s features an innovative drink menu

As if jolted out a sound sleep, the Twin Ports community, particularly Superior residents, have rallied to this new entrant into the food wars of Superior, Wisconsin, and have signaled that they value having an innovative, independent restaurant close to home. Such support is crucial for locally owned and operated businesses in our fair city.

In recent months, nightly seating has rebounded and is comparable to when Sclavi’s opened last fall. This has helped stabilize their business and goes a long way towards helping this operation thrive as continue to offer their signature offerings. According to Anthony, “the outpouring support of the public was appreciated beyond compare as the livelihood of our family, and our ability to continue providing Superior with a quality dining option depend on local support.”

dessertSclavi’s is only open three nights a week, Thursday through Saturday, from 4pm to close (around 10 p.m. I’m told.) That means you’ll have to schedule your next meal there accordingly. Be sure to call ahead (715-531-5600) as seating can be hard to come by given their new found popularity. Persistence will be your reward should you make the decision to visit Sclavi’s.

The Sclavi family believes in living life to the fullest, having a good time, laughing over food and drinks and throwing caution to the wind because, “right now is all we have so we may as well look good and have one hell of a time doing so!” They carry that mission through atmosphere, preparation and presentation. To quote the Italians…“Salut!”

Sclavi’s also welcomes private events, so be sure to stop by to discuss how you can hold your next party with them.

Sclavi’s Restaurant & Bar
1106 Tower Avenue, Superior, WI
(715) 531-5600

For more information about Sclavi’s, click this link to TwinPortsNightOut
See their menu by clicking HERE
To see their Facebook page: http://superioritalian.com/




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