Little Venice Restaurant Celebrates Eight Decades In Binghamton

A bowl of spaghetti with their signature sauce and a meat log or two. Maybe some mushrooms as well. Too much? Well, that's my order, and I'm in heaven at Little Venice.

The restaurant, located on Chenango Street in Binghamton, is celebrating its 80th  anniversary this week. Local officials, community leaders, family, and friends were on hand to recognize the restaurant’s history.

According to the owners, Little Venice was established in May 1946 and has remained owned and operated by the same family ever since. Although Chenango Street was not the first location. Little Venice began in a house at the corner of Court and Cherry Streets.

The restaurant moved several times throughout Downtown Binghamton, and then in 1969, Little Venice moved to 111 Chenango Street, where it operates today.

But it's more than a restaurant. If you have visited, you know that Little Venice has been dubbed Binghamton’s original art gallery, featuring over 150 original signed paintings on display throughout the restaurant. This massive collection includes works spanning the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries.

Read More: Get Caught Up On Local Binghamton Area News

For us, Little Venice is so much more than a restaurant. It represents 80 years of our family’s history and the work of the generations who came before us. Piero and I are incredibly proud to be the next generation carrying that legacy forward. There is a tremendous sense of responsibility that comes with that, but even more than that, there is so much pride in knowing we get to continue something our family started 80 years ago. - Gina Minichino, co-owner of Little Venice Restaurant

Little Venice's homemade tomato sauce has been served since the 1940s, and the uniquely shaped homemade meat logs, a tradition dating back to the original cook, Aunt Carmella, are still prepared in the same distinctive shape today. This week, the celebration continues with special events commemorating the restaurant’s 80-year history.