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Centanni has new owners
Centanni's founders come from one of Milwaukee's most notable Italian restaurants, Giovanni's. Father and son, Giovanni and Giuseppe Safina opened the bar, 218 N. Water St., more than seven years ago with Robert Head, a former bartender at the family restaurant that closed several years ago.
Today, the bar has been sold and the family wishes "another 100 years of good luck" to new owners, the SURG Restaurant Group, headed by Mike Polaski.
Polaski add Centanni to a local portfolio of bars and restaurants that includes Mi-key's, Carnevor, Umami Moto, Charro Milwaukee, Charro Brookfield and the soon to open distil, 722 N. Milwaukee St.
"It was a perfect fit for me" said Polaski, who has done business with Giovanni Safina -- who also owns Tutto on Old World Third Street -- for more than 25 years.
Giovanni, said he plans to spend more time in Sicily and felt it was time for him to move on, but not time for Centanni to close its doors.
"There's still so much life there, it will be around for 100 years," he said in a news release.
Polaski promised to keep the same feel, style and service that Milwaukeeans have grown to love for the last seven years Centanni.
But, do look for the name to be updated to "Nuovo Centanni."
Nuovo Centanni will be open Wednesday-Saturday, 7 p.m.-close, with live entertainment nightly.
Talkbacks
jakeyd | Nov. 5, 2009 at 2:22 p.m. (report)
Please keep the lovely waitstaff, lower the volume, and get rid of the smoke.
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xenophobe | Nov. 5, 2009 at 9:42 a.m. (report)
Hey great idea - put "nuovo" in front of another Italian name that 80% of your customers can't pronounce. What a mouthful - new-oh-vo chent-on-nee. Good luck, Polaski, and thanks for keeping Milwaukee a little less cool.
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college_dave | Nov. 2, 2009 at 1:08 p.m. (report)
Centanni is NOT a restaraunt, but a live piano lounge.
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hardgeminiguy | Nov. 2, 2009 at 11:31 a.m. (report)
WHYy do restaurants have such loud music? it is terrible. i stopped going to rock bottom after only one dinner there. they had live music--a band. it was so loud i could not talk much less hear the person i had dinner with. dinners MUST have back ground music. now, i will avoid centanni. thank-you!
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PlayerGotGame | Nov. 2, 2009 at 10:40 a.m. (report)
I really love the "idea" of Centanni, a classier, more upscale place with great drinks and beautiful people. That said, I never roll down there because the music is *way* too loud and it is far too full of smoke. One of those problems will get remedied next July, but I really feel like Nuova Centanni's best "change" from the old would be to lower the decibel level about 20dB. You can't even begin to talk to anyone there without screaming, and that's just not very enjoyable. Best of luck to Polanski and crew.
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