Like layers in a fine lasagna, history, tradition and long-time family recipes are woven inside the walls of the Italian Kitchen. The restaurant was started by the late Sam Maranto, a second-generation Italian-American and World War II veteran, and is thriving and celebrating a major milestone — 70 years in business.

"It's a big honor for any business to survive that long; it's not easy. ... it means they are doing a lot of things right," said Steve Shapiro, a real estate agent and longtime customer. What the family, mostly second and third-generation members, seem to be doing right - is not changing a whole lot from when Maranto and later his wife Rita ran the business.