William Gasperetti, owner of popular restaurant

For nearly four decades, William Gasperetti was a staple in downtown Seattle, the front man welcoming athletes, politicians, police officers, sports writers and other patrons seven days a week to his popular Italian restaurant.

He took pride in treating his customers as family, always knowing them by name and seating his regulars at their usual tables.

"He would greet the people and sometimes he would get a little carried away," said Mr. Gasperetti's oldest son, William Gasperetti Jr. "He would give them a little love tap on the arm and they'd actually come away with a bruise."

On Oct. 23, the longtime owner of Gasperetti's Roma Cafe died of heart failure. He was 83.

Gasperetti's Roma Cafe, which closed its doors in 1981, was a family-run affair, co-owned by Mr. Gasperetti and his late brother, John Gasperetti. Along with the two brothers, others in the family worked at the restaurant as well.

The Italian cafe with the red-and-white checkerboard tablecloths, at 310 Main St. and later 220 Fourth Ave., was a popular hangout for everyone from entertainers to Hall of Fame baseball legends to young ballplayers whose teams the restaurant would sponsor.

Mr. Gasperetti served up his "squad-room special" for police officers walking the downtown beat. It was a hearty dish of spaghetti, ravioli, meatballs, sausage and Italian-braised beef tips, all on one plate.

"He wanted to make sure that nobody would leave the restaurant hungry," said his oldest son.

Ironically, Mr. Gasperetti's favorite meal wasn't Italian — he loved steak, Chinese food and his favorite dish of fried chicken. "He was around Italian food all the time," said his son.

Long before the days of sports bars, Mr. Gasperetti displayed signed baseballs and hung the pictures of athletes who came to dine at his restaurant. Baseball greats Yogi Berra, Elston Howard and Carl Yastrzemski all ate at Mr. Gasperetti's when they came to town.

The Seattle Kingdome museum later displayed the restaurant's sports relics after the cafe closed.

A die-hard sports fan, Mr. Gasperetti held baseball season tickets for the Seattle Rainiers, Angels, Pilots and eventually the Mariners. Despite his love of Seattle sports, he remained a Yankees fan, rooting for the teams led by Italian-American Joe DiMaggio.

He also was a fan of teams managed by Tony La Russa and Joe Torre. "If you had an Italian manager, you were my Dad's favorite team. That's all it took," said his son.

Mr. Gasperetti was born in the South Seattle area known as "Garlic Gulch." The son of Italian immigrants from Florence, Mr. Gasperetti spoke only Italian until he began elementary school. He remained fluent in Italian until the end, teaching phrases to workers at the Columbia Lutheran Nursing Home, where he resided.

Before he opened his restaurant, Mr. Gasperetti served as a Marine in World War II, stationed in Pearl Harbor from 1942 until 1945. He always stressed that service to country was a responsibility as a citizen, said his son, who served in Vietnam and whose son, William III, is in the Navy stationed near Afghanistan.

Mr. Gasperetti always loved kids, and kept candy at the restaurant to hand out to children. In the later years of his life, Mr. Gasperetti worked as a crossing guard at the Wedgwood Elementary School in North Seattle.

Besides his son and grandson, Mr. Gasperetti is survived by his wife, Marie Gasperetti; sons Robert and James Gasperetti; and grandsons, Sean, Alexander and Stephen Gasperetti.

Funeral services were yesterday. The family asks that memorial contributions be sent to Medic One or a favorite charity. A guest book may be signed online at www.columbiafuneralhome.com.