Beloved family-run restaurant Maranto's is about to celebrate its 40th birthday.
A restaurant standing the test of time is always an impressive feat, particularly in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, which had a major impact on the hospitality industry, and leading to the permanent closure of many independent shops, businesses, and restaurants.
So a restaurant that's been serving customers for four decades while still being owned and run by one family is even more impressive. This is the case for Lark Lane legend, Maranto's.
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The popular venue, which serves a medley of Italian and American-style dishes in a cosy yet spacious setting, was launched by married couple Steve and Ruth Maranto, who have given more than just their name to the restaurant over the years. It first opened on February 2, 1983 and has been a mainstay ever since.
It continues as a family run affair, with the couple's youngest daughter, Anna Maranto-Babel, stepping up to the helm in 2011 after Steve and Ruth semi-retired. Anna is currently on maternity leave with her beautiful four month old daughter, Lucia, so her husband Joe Babel has taken the reins to ensure the continued success of this Lark Lane institution.
This Thursday the extended Maranto clan will help mark the restaurant's impressive milestone, with staff and customers they've come to consider family over the years.
Maranto's is a Grade II listed Victorian building with a rich history. During its tenure on Lark Lane, it has been the home of many businesses including an auto-mechanic, a chemists, plumbers' merchants, and the Wesleyan Mission Chapel before becoming the restaurant so well known and loved today.
The ECHO visited Maranto's to chat to the family about their business, sitting down at an expansive chunky wooden table with Steve, Ruth, Anna, Joe – and baby Lucia – to discuss the restaurant's big birthday, as well as just how much their customers and staff mean to them. Steve Maranto, 73, bought the building after spotting it while "drunk out of his mind" after a night out. It was in need of some repair, and Steve described the project as a "labour of love".
The chef and businessman, originally from Sicily, moved to Chicago in 1962 and met wife Ruth, 70, from Huyton while on holiday in Sicily in 1976. The pair's "holiday romance" quickly turned to true love and after living in America for a little while – which Ruth "hated" – they moved back to Liverpool and made it their home.
Steve spotted the Lark Lane building for sale after a night of drinking in a pub with a friend. He said: "We got drunk out of our minds at The Albert and I came out and it was like a mirage in the desert.
"I looked at this and saw a sign that said, 'for sale'. I literally got up the next morning, went to the agent and gave them all the money they were asking for, which was £32,500. That's what I paid."
In the beginning, the couple lived in a single room above the restaurant while work was underway to completely transform it. Ruth said: "We lived upstairs in one room – the bed was hauled up with everybody watching us through the front door."
They didn't have a kitchen, and had to wash their dishes in the bath. Laughing, Ruth added: "18 months we lived up there. If the doorbell rang for the veg, we had to go running down the stairs and then locking up here, you just felt like there was going to be ghosts."
Steve said: "To do this, I spent a total of half a million pounds – with a half a million pounds, literally I could've bought the whole street [at that time]. Everybody thought I was cuckoo because it was unheard of.
"We actually dug out the basement here, we underpinned the whole building – that's why I spent so much money. It's been a real labour of love – this was, financially, do or die for me. If it wasn't successful, that would've been it."
A nod to Steve's love of antiques, the décor and design at Maranto's has given new life to salvaged items, including former church pews used as seating and shelving; old train station pillars scattered throughout the ground floor for a decorative twist, while the bar on the ground floor came from Altrincham town hall, and the intricate patterned lights and lamps are from Las Vegas.
Over the decades, the family have seen major changes, both in the city itself and at Maranto's. Steve said: "Liverpool was down and out and on its knees, and what [I've seen] happen to Liverpool since I've been here, it's truly miraculous – the way it's [grown]."
He continued: "At one stage, we employed 50-60 people here. This was the 'in' place in Liverpool – we're still very busy but in those days, it was like, all the footballers used to come in here. This was chic because it's pretty much as it was, we haven't really changed much other than redecorating or repolishing or whatever."
The restaurant is an inviting space, with a keen focus on family. Anna, 34, said: "That was the aim from the beginning, that it would be very family orientated and children were welcome – and it still is. Now, we're welcoming generations and generations over 40 years. We've got the grandpa, the mum and dad, then their children."
Steve gestured to his family sitting around the table and added: "We still have people coming here – three generations coming here, just like us – that were coming here when I first opened. Most of our business is repeat business. I would say 80, 90% is repeat business."
Anna and her sister have always known life with Maranto's. Anna described the restaurant as being "like our older brother in a way", and is happy to be introducing her own children to their unofficial 'uncle'. She said: "Last night, me, Joe and the kids were here and my son goes in there [to the kitchen] and makes pizza, standing on a crate, and that's what I used to do [as a child]."
Anna continued: "For us to be in business for the last 40 years is absolutely incredible and we wouldn't have been able to do that without all the customers and loyalty from the customers. I've been on maternity leave since covid times really, but I know people's families and their names, and their orders. I want to thank our employees as well, they're really loyal."
Her husband, Joe, 34 – originally from Minnesota, USA – said: "In hospitality, turnover is quite high but we're quite fortunate that we have people that have been with us for decades – especially in the kitchen. The average years working here is about 15 years.
"We have two people that have been here nearly 20 years, one person here 25 years, which just doesn't happen much. It's a cliché that restaurants are family but here, it literally is family."
They feel particularly supported by the city. Steve said: "I'm here because I love Liverpool. I mean, I don't like the [lack of] sunshine but otherwise I love the place; I love the people, their sense of humour, I love people here. It's a fantastic place."
The family explained it was the community of Liverpool that ensured they were able to obtain a licence for the business, with "hundreds of locals" signing a petition for Steve which helped him secure the business. Steve continued: "It was the first full on licence in 70 years in the area – it was unheard of. I'm thankful for the community for backing me up."
In celebration of Maranto's' 40th anniversary, the restaurant will be dishing out £40 vouchers in a nightly raffle. During the first week of February, each table will be entered into the raffle, with one table winning the £40 voucher.
Unlike the big bash for the venue's 25th year anniversary, the Maranto's family is keen to celebrate in a low-key fashion with their regulars and new customers, too. Anna added: "We're just very lucky to be fully booked every Saturday evening still after 40 years, it's incredible."
Maranto's is based at 57-63 Lark Lane, Liverpool, L17 8UP.
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