After 25 years in business, Rocco Biale still works seven days a week at his Italian restaurant, Rocco’s, in Walnut Creek.
“I’m a hands-on owner,” said Biale. “I grew up in the restaurant business. It’s the only job I’ve ever had.”
This weekend will mark a huge celebration for Biale, who is slashing prices on pizza, beer and wine to nearly 50% off in honor of the 25th anniversary of Rocco’s.
From Thursday, Oct. 31, through Sunday, Nov. 3., any pitcher of beer, any large pizza — even Dante’s Inferno and the Dominator, which regularly sell for $32 — and any bottle of wine — even those marked as high as $45 — will be just $19.99 to celebrate the year Rocco’s opened in 1999.
The pizzas are named after Biale’s sons, Dante, 32, and Dom, 30, who work at the restaurant as a bartender and cook, respectively, while his daughter, Nina, 28, is a server and often runs the front desk.
“It’s a true family business,” Rocco said. “We have six staff members who have been with us since the day we opened, and many more who have been with us 15 to 20 years.”
Family members Dante Biale, left, brother Dominic, second from left, sister Nina, her son Scotty ,4, with Rocco Biale, right, at Rocco’s Pizzeria on Tuesday, June 20, 2023, in Walnut Creek, Calif. The family owned pizza restaurant has been operating for 25 years. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
Rocco grew up in the Italian section of Potrero Hill in San Francisco, where his grandparents, Giovanni and Virginia Biale, first settled after moving from Genoa, Italy, in 1922. They soon opened “Biale’s Meat Market.”
Rocco’s father, Mario, and uncle, Rudy, both entered the restaurant business, eventually opening “Rudy’s” in Waikiki, where Rocco worked for three years before moving back to the Bay Area.
“After working for other people for many years, I decided if I’m working 80 hours a week for someone else I might as well do it for myself,” he said. “Borrowed a little here, a little there, found a spot and opened up.”
Rocco’s served beer and wine with pizza for the first six years, then purchased the adjacent liquor store and added a full bar and 90 additional seats. Now it seats more than 300 people with 70 employees.
Most of the food on the menu comes from family recipes. Rocco’s favorites are the polenta, risotto and pesto gnocchi.
“My family comes from the Genoa region, very famous for its pesto, so I grew up eating a lot of pesto, ” he said.
Rocco’s also has live music two nights a week.
Biale said he’s most thankful for the community that supported the restaurant through two lockdowns during the pandemic. Now Rocco’s donates a few hundred gift baskets to local charities each year.
Details: Rocco’s is located at 2909 Ygnacio Valley Road in Walnut Creek and is open daily at 11 a.m.; roccospizzeria.com.
Nina Biale carries a pizza to a table at Rocco’s Pizzeria on Tuesday, June 20, 2023, in Walnut Creek, Calif. The family owned pizza restaurant has been operating for 25 years. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
Dominic Biale, left, and his father Rocco work the front counter at Rocco’s Pizzeria on Tuesday, June 20, 2023, in Walnut Creek, Calif. The family owned pizza restaurant has been operating for 25 years. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
Owner Rocco Biale carries pizzas to a table at Rocco’s Pizzeria on Tuesday, June 20, 2023, in Walnut Creek, Calif. The family owned pizza restaurant has been operating for 25 years. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)