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Show Lakeside Review, Wednesday, October 30, 1985 V' r 1 V .,,dPF cr- ij f to' (fS - JzM Ai&t ' J y hy Tv f aIJ ri ' yS t rF Vv: vsHi kvK'-j- V -- .. t ?.Vr .1, Family photo taken in 1970 shows the Zitos: William M Janice Robin, William D. and Ruth Donahue (from left), in South Weber where they operated a supper club. Zitos Supper Club remains landmark in South Weber early years, club hosted famous, powerful travelers In JUDY BLACKNER- found the Apollo Club in bad condition upon his return. Zito sold The Apollo and pur- Review correspondent SOUTH WEBER A family tradition of serving fine foods for more than 35 years is the tradition of Zitos Fireside Supper Club. Zitos is a secluded restaurant with a quiet friendly atmosphere located at the mouth of chased the Tracerado Club in Layton in 1944. He then sold the club to seek his fortune in Nevada where he bought one of the first night clubs in Lake Tahoe. Zitos Bingo Parlor was a great success but the Lake Tahoe area Weber Canyon in South Weber. Famous for the best steak in the West, cooked to perfection in Zitos special sauce, the supper club is the realization of a dream of William M. Zito who built the first club in 1946. Zito was born, the son of John and Congetta Zito, in 1914 in Colorado. They moved to River-dal- e, Utah, where Zito spent his childhood. He was known for his participation in statewide baseball and was chosen Athlete of the Year in 1934. Zito began his restaurant career when he purchased the old Welters Service station on Riverdale road in 1937. He remodeled it to become The Apollo. Club which .he operated until he was drafted into the military service during World War II. He spent six years in New Guinea, where he contracted malaria and was sent home to Bushnell Hospital in Brigham City to recuperate. He . . hue, daughter of Kenneth and Lucille Donahue from Ogden. According to Mrs. Zito, We were returning home from a dance at Hill Air Force Base in an open fop jeep. At the junction of the State Highway 89 and the road up Weber Canyon, the wind caught Bills hat and blew it off. As he was retrieving it he noticed all the traffic at the junction, he looked at me and said this is the perfect spot for our restaurant. Zito bought the land surround- ing the junction from Ed Schumlz in 1946 and had the restaurant in operation by 1947. Mrs. Zito said, the land was bare when we built, so we transplanted all the trees from the river and did the landscaping ourselves. ry The restaurant had small cabins out back to rent, said Mrs. Zito, and we also had a drive-i- n window. Bill had a fried chicken recipe that was exceptional. People would come by to pick it up on their way up the canyon. The early restaurant depended on the fireplaces and a coal furnace for heat; every winter the water would freeze up. Bill had to dig a well to bring in water and pay for power lines to cross the highway. Tragedy struck just one year later in 1948 when the restaurant and the cabins burned down. Zito rebuilt the club again. When the highway changed we lost a lot of our drive-i- n business, so we went over to the Supper Bingo Parlor, owned by Bill Zito at Lake Tahoe in 1945. ' V, 9m i was totally inaccessible during the winter months. He sold the Bingo Parlor and came home to Utah where he met his wife-to-b- e Ruth Dona- ' sr.t V:V Vi yk H )) H )) H 3B M ))( Club idea. said Mrs. Zito. That was when steaks became the main part of the menu. Back then a complete dinner with a steak was $3.25, a New York at $2.25 and your choice of half a chicken or a shrimp dinner for $1.75. Bill was a kind and loving man who loved to party, said Mrs. Zito, The club was host to many famous people including governors, congressmen and prominent businessmen. Ernest Hemingway used to stop by on his way to Sun Valley. After the war there was a lot of hobos passing through camping on the river. Bill and I would feed them in return for doing odd jobs around the place. Mrs. Zito said she and her husband were married in 1950. Janice Robin Zito, their daughter, was born in 1952 and their son William D. Zito was born in 1955. They lived in a small apart- ment in the back of the restau-- , rant. The Zitos built their present home across the street from the club a little at a time until it was completed in 1962. Over the years they added a small orchard with duck ponds and began keeping geese, ducks and peacocks. The birds brilliant plumage is still a familiar sight at the supper club. William M. Zito passed away on March 20, 1983. Mrs. Zito is now retired, but she can still cook a Zito steak to perfection and lends a hand on busy nights. Robin Zito is a profesional dancer in Las Vegas, and is presently spending time with her mother. Their son Bill Zito is now owner and proprietor of Zitos Fireside Supper Club where you can still get the best steak in the West as well as shrimp dinners, cocktails and friendly service. Zitos is open to the public Monday through Saturday at 6 p.m. MENS and WOMENS i o BOY SCOUT UNIFORMS and EQUIPMENT o MENS BETTER CLOTHING p v i H ) ) H V vmmmmmm YOUNG MENS and WOMEN'S pa and IB MUCH RIUCH MORE W- - Lamps By THOMAS JMXXTfUES TABLE AC ) AND FLOOR 0 LAMPS adw Brass Ceramic I Prices Start At i!CU $27S0. . : nir We also sell replacement shades. CGDCN BRIGHAM &05 So. ? CLSARFIELD 1475 1550 Wain 3 54-77- 7237714 Stan Hours 6-- 8 773-76- 65 Wkiayi, CLOSED SUNDAY 6-- 4 Sat. S. Stats 3 JT vrtA a finnirare gR gmragimCTCTraoe '1 969 5F |