The Como Restaurant and Lounge

The Como Restaurant has been in business for almost 100 years. It is “now the largest and most famous Italian-American restaurant” in Niagara Falls, NY. 

In 1927, Francesco Antonacci opened the Como on Pine Avenue, also known as Little Italy, where an enclave of Italian immigrants had begun to live and work.

Francesco was born in Abruzzo, Italy in 1889. He immigrated to America in his teens and settled in a small mining town in Pennsylvania. He worked in the coal mines, going down before dawn and coming up after dark. The only time he saw daylight was on a rare day off.

Once Francesco saved enough money, he “moved to Niagara Falls to seek his fortune.” In 1914, he opened a bakery near Pine Avenue. Francesco had learned how to bake bread as a boy in Italy, so owning a successful bakery was a dream come true. 

By 1927, Francesco had enough savings to fulfill another dream--owning his own Italian restaurant. He bought a house with a storefront on Pine Avenue. He named his restaurant after a lake he loved in his native Italy: Lake Como.

At first, the Como only had six tables and a small menu. “It centered on the sauce Frank had created. And hard work. At night, after a 16-hour-day, he would go upstairs above the restaurant where he lived with his wife and children. There he rested for a few hours, before he would rise and begin again.”

As the Como became increasingly popular with locals and tourists visiting Niagara Falls, the restaurant expanded along Pine Avenue. In 1940, Francesco’s daughter Adeline married Dominic Colucci and his business grew once again. 

“Since their wedding day, the Antonacci and Colucci families have worked side-by-side, connected by their bloodlines and their devotion to a restaurant started by an Italian immigrant with a dream.” To date, four generations of their children, nicknamed “Como Babies,” have taken part in the family business. 

Since 1927, families from Niagara Falls and beyond have made the Como an important tradition for family gatherings and special occasions. 

A ‘Wall of Fame’ displays photographs of all the famous people who’ve dined at the restaurant. Among the smiling faces are Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., Bette Midler, and John Travolta. In 2012, Nik Wallenda dined at the Como after he successfully crossed the Horseshoe Falls on a tightrope. 

Today, the Como can seat over 700 people. “While it has grown, some things have not changed.” The top secret sauce and meatball recipes are “the same as when [Francesco] served his first bowl of spaghetti in 1927.” In 2017, one family member estimated that the Como has made around nine million meatballs. Imagine that!

Hope L. Russell, Ph.D.