Message Inn A Bottle – Pioneer Italian restaurant changes hands

Silvio Petoletti in front of the Bottle Inn, sometime in the 1970’s. Photo courtesy Silvio Petoletti
When Silvio Petoletti talks about the early days of the Bottle Inn, he reminisces about a dining scene that is almost unimaginable to Millennials. In 1974 Hermosa Beach had only about two dozen restaurants rather than the sixty-odd places that flourish now, and high-style Italian food was not a big draw.
“When we first opened it was tough to be just Italian, so we called it Bottle Inn Restaurant Continental Italian Cuisine,” Petoletti said. “We had escargot on the menu, and that made us Continental. Almost all of our wines were French, because we couldn’t get good Italian wines then. Eventually we just said, we’re Italian, we’re going to feature the real cooking of Italy. It wasn’t easy… We couldn’t get people to eat risotto because Americans then thought of rice as a side dish, not a dinner item. We put the traditional saffron rice in chicken stock on the menu, but nobody ordered it. We had to put steak or shrimp in it, and then they said, that’s a meal.”
Another prominent South Bay restaurateur has vivid memories of the era when the Bottle Inn was making that transition.
“I remember getting cottage pie at the Bottle Inn,” said Michael Franks of Chez Melange, with a laugh. “I’m not sure Silvio remembers serving that, or wants to. It was the kind of thing everybody had to have in those days.”
When Franks moved from London in 1976, his first meal after getting off the plane was at the Bottle Inn, and it was a revelation.
“I was shocked. I had dined at plenty of Italian restaurants in the UK, but this was a different thing,” Franks recalled. “The portions were gigantic and there was so much more sauce, so much more tomato. Italian regional food was established in London, but nobody had heard of it here. If Silvio or anybody else had tried to serve a whole menu of it, nobody would have known what it was. People were less adventurous than, and the word foodie hadn’t been invented yet. The Bottle Inn opened at a time when nobody cared about their health and the three-martini lunch was still acceptable.”
Petoletti didn’t own the restaurant in those early days; it was established by a Continental Airlines flight engineer named Joe Cantisani, who named the restaurant in honor of his collection of airline mini liquor bottles that still decorate the foyer. Cantisani refurbished a 1930s era building that had formerly been a bathhouse, hamburger stand, and the home of a local newspaper called the Beach People’s Easy Reader, then hired Petoletti to manage it. He couldn’t have found a better person for the job, as Petoletti had worked in restaurants since he was nine years old and had an impressive resume.
“Back then I was living in South Redondo and working in Malibu at the Sandcastle Restaurant in Paradise Cove. The business was in my blood,” Petoletti said. “My dad Bruno owned the La Rue restaurant on the Sunset Strip, a celebrity hangout that was considered the eighth wonder of Los Angeles. He was very good at it — he traveled all over Europe and was the head maître d’ at the Italian pavilion at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York. I started helping his chef Orlando in the kitchen, putting things together, making sauces. That was when I was nine, and I’m 69 now, so that’s 60 years in the business. I’ve never done anything else for a living.”
In 1992 Joe Cantisani sold the Bottle Inn to a passive owner named Randy Fortunato who left operations up to a team composed of Petoletti, chef Maglio Munoz, and maître d’ Oscar Arellano. The trio bought the restaurant from Randy in 1992 and things have been stable until now. Soon Petoletti and Munoz will be moving to the Riviera Village location of the Bottle Inn, which has been open for just over three years.
The Hermosa Bottle Inn will remain open with the same name and ownership will soon transfer to a team led of Hermosa resident Hilary Condren and current maître d’ Arellano, with fellow locals and restaurant veterans David Gordon and Christina Mishef. Petoletti describes Condren as “a longtime customer who understands and respects what we do here,” and said that he had gone out of his way to warn Condren about the expectations of his fellow regulars.
“Our cuisine is very specific… when we were talking with Hillary we didn’t paint any false pictures,” he said. “We told him it’s not an easy kitchen, and it’s very complicated because everything’s made from scratch. He knows that, and he understands how it makes a difference, so I’m sure the place is in good hands. His own favorite dish here is the rigatoni pollo e basilico, so that’s one thing you can be sure will stay on the menu.”
When reached by phone, Condren confirmed that he does indeed favor the rigatoni, and he gave a little more information about how he transitioned from an enthusiastic customer to a co-owner.
“I go in there often, and I had caught wind that he might be receptive to a sale, so I approached him and asked if that was the case,” Condren said. “He said yes, so I said let’s do something. Originally we were talking about me buying in, but they decided they wanted to get out altogether because they were stretched too thin. We’re buying out Silvio and Maglio, and Oscar is going to stay on as a partner. We met with the staff and they know they all have jobs. My partners and I are all Hermosa residents, and we wanted to be sure the Bottle Inn doesn’t disappear.”
Condren emphasized that the basic character of the place won’t change, though there may be some additions to the menu.
“We may add some salads, appetizers, and sides to the menu, but the entrees will stay the same,” he said. “So will the look and feel of the place. This space needs a little bit of love, and the front patio can use a makeover, but the idea of the place is solid. We just want to keep that jewel what it is.”
This is a good idea, because the existing customer base obviously is used to a stable environment. When asked how much change there has been to the decor since the place opened, Petoletti only had to think a minute before responding decisively.
“None,” he said. “The only change in forty years is that we opened a window in the front because before that it was always very dark inside. It was like a dungeon, but now whether it’s day or night it’s a bit brighter, and they come in with a smile rather than having to peer around in the dark. The wine cellar got a little bigger… it seems like every four or five years we add some space to it. The patio dates from either ’92 or ’94, so that’s a change, but inside it’s the same.”
When asked why he and Munoz are moving to the Riviera location, Petoletti hesitated a moment and his voice became soft and meditative.
“We’re slowing down, and we need to try to give our bodies, our families, and ourselves a bit of a break,” he said. “It’s hard work when you’re a hands-on owner. The Riviera location is smaller, and I can stand at one end of our wine bar and see every patron in the restaurant. I like that… I work less over there because I can see who needs what instantly.”
That sounded a lot like someone who was considering retirement, so the obvious follow-up was to ask if Silvio if he had ever considered quitting entirely. He voice was strong and cheerful when he replied, “I retire every year, or at least I say I’m going to retire. But I don’t. Selling Hermosa is perhaps a step on that road. We want to make the other one good and strong and run it as long as our heart is in it. We’ll make everything perfect with a staff we trust to keep it going, and then come in occasionally to count the money.”
The Bottle Inn is at 26 22nd Street Hermosa Beach, 310-376-9595.