When Giovanni (“Gio”) and Jessica LaFata opened their new restaurant in Chesterfield in 2013, naming it Vito’s in the Valley seemed natural.

“When we came out to Chesterfield and opened a restaurant after Gio had owned a restaurant (Vito’s Sicilian Pizzeria & Ristorante in Midtown) with his family for so many years, that’s all he ever knew,” says Jessica. “And authentic Sicilian — he’s from Sicily — that’s also he knew. But organically, when we moved to West County, we followed the lead of what our customers wanted and what our team was good at — and it took us in a much more modern interpretation of Italian, not just authentic Sicilian. We allowed our chef to be creative, and what he was putting out was delicious and the community was loving it.”

While Vito’s has always featured LaFata family favorites, such as eggplant parmesan, and held true to their commitment to made-from-scratch Italian meals, many of the menu items reflect Gio’s more modern take on Italian cuisine.