It reads like a scene from a movie: Aspiring actor, living in Manhattan’s East Village, toils at restaurant jobs while vying for his big break. Having grown up in Kingston, he still has roots in the Hudson Valley. One day, while upstate, he sees a vacant eatery on the water. “What if I made it into an Italian trattoria,” our hero asks himself, “like the ones I love in NYC?”
Fast-forward, and you have Stephen Savona—who, with his brother Daniel, now oversees a mini-empire of four Savona’s restaurants and two pizzerias in the Valley—basking in the glow of success.
While that is the crux of the Savona’s story, there were a number of plot twists along the way. Stephen and Daniel grew up in a foodie family. Their dad Emanuele, who emigrated from Sicily, worked at a bakery and met his wife Cecilia when delivering some bread. Raising a family in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, the elder Savona was savvy enough to eventually buy the bakery that employed him. One day, en route to Catskill, where he planned to open another location, he stopped for lunch in Kingston.
“My dad looked around and said, ‘This is the place!’” says Stephen, and soon enough, Dad had opened Jimbo’s Pizzeria. After a few years of reverse-commuting upstate, Emanuele cajoled his wife to move the family, which had now swelled to six (two sons and two daughters), to nearby Woodstock.
There, the boys, as high-schoolers, learned to slide pizzas into blazing hot ovens, sauté at the cooktop, and wash dishes. But as he got older, Stephen wanted to get out of the kitchen. He had other ambitions and headed to New York City in 1999. He jumped on the acting merry-go-round of agents, auditions, roles, and restaurant jobs to pay the rent.
Part of the family tradition means giving back to the Hudson Valley—a tenet their parents instilled in them young.
Then the romance plot line unfolded: He met his future wife, another actor, and things got serious. He realized he needed a steadier, more secure income.
Which lands us in 2007, when Stephen was puttering around upstate while visiting family members and saw a shuttered restaurant near Rondout Creek in Kingston. “Keep in mind, Kingston wasn’t anything like it is today. The waterfront was half-empty, and there weren’t all the weekenders,” he says. “But something about the place and its sidewalk space facing the water made me think, I could do something with this.”
His plan was to create a casual Italian restaurant, given that he was a connoisseur of his nonna’s Sunday sauce and had a generous helping of industry intel since he’d been managing the landmark Cafe Fiorello across from Lincoln Center. “I wanted a place that could be a favorite with locals, whether it was date night, a family dinner, or a business meeting. A place you could find delicious, well-priced food and maybe even stop by a couple of times a week. And tourists would love it, too,” he explains.
And so, the first Savona’s opened its doors and quickly wooed and wowed diners. Then and now, the menu reflects crowd-pleasing Italian classics with a twist. The current bestseller is Salmon Limoncello, with a zesty cream sauce, served over spinach risotto. Other favorites are marinara-topped pastas, fried zucchini blossoms (Savona’s sources them year-round from a hydroponic supplier in Israel), and figs everywhere—in cocktails, baked with prosciutto as a starter, and tossed into entrées.
“Figs are very symbolic to us Italians,” says Stephen. “Since we were little kids, my dad always grew fig trees.”
Back to our storyline: Just as his father had reverse-commuted from New York City to the Hudson Valley, so, too, did Stephen for nine long years. Finally, he convinced his wife and their young family to decamp to Rhinebeck, where they now live.
Partnering with his younger brother, a father of four based in Kingston, they expanded to their Red Hook location. A clear, stay-in-your-lane policy keeps the siblings happily working together. “Yes, we had our share of fights in the kitchen, but in the past,” says Stephen. He manages the food, staff, and service; Danny is all about infrastructure (renovations, equipment, plumbing, permits).
Their next expansion was taking over a space in Poughkeepsie, in early 2020. As you might guess, here comes some dramatic tension: Within a month, the restaurant was shuttered due to Covid.
But rather than the Savona’s saga turning tragic, the brothers pivoted and began serving takeout (plus sangria and wine to go) to a pandemic-addled public. They made it through the dark time and even took over an adjacent restaurant that didn’t fare as well during this period. This location is known for its dazzling backlit bar, with glowing bottles of Aperol and other aperitifs.
The next plot twist occurred when Stephen and his wife visited Hudson in 2021. “I hadn’t been there in years and loved how it had changed. I called a broker and said, ‘contact me if anything pops up.’” The phone rang within a week, and Savona’s opened in Hudson in the summer of 2022. The team gave it a sleek urban look to suit the town’s sophisticated vibe. While you’ll find the same menu at all four restaurant locations, each chef determines the specials, which allows them to showcase their creativity.
In addition, the brothers also run two Plaza Pizza locations in Kingston, building upon their now-retired dad’s legacy. Part of that family tradition means giving back to the Hudson Valley—a tenet their parents instilled in them young. Over the years they’ve donated tens of thousands of dollars to charity, sponsoring Italian festivals, soapbox derbies, and gifting meals to first responders during the pandemic. Employing nearly 250 people in the area is another source of tremendous pride.
And why not? “The Hudson Valley is the best place,” Stephen enthuses. “It has everything, from spots to swim in summer to skiing in winter, lots of theater and art, movies at Lyceum Cinemas in Red Hook, fine dining, and ice-cream cones at Del’s Roadside in Rhinebeck.”
Soon, a taste of Savona’s may be available further afield. The brothers are deep in the trenches (at press time) of launching their own food line, featuring their marinara sauce in jars, potentially followed by fresh pastas and those irresistible meatballs.
If the Savona’s story were a movie, it would probably end with Stephen’s most beloved scene: when he and his extended family—his parents, his siblings and their kids—all gather at one of their restaurants for a big, joyous meal. “That’s when and where I’m my happiest,” he says.
And: Roll credits.
Related: 5 Wine and Cider Tours to Take Around the Hudson Valley