Serafina & Cicchetti

Since the moment it opened in 1991, Serafina has turned all who visit into Italian country food addicts. Recipes come straight from the source—Italian families. Each year, visitors to the Eastlake restaurant increase. And now there's something new to love—a Venetian cichetti bar.

Photo courtesy of Serafina

Owner Susan Kaufman grew up in Brooklyn and was "nursed on Italian food." Her father was Romanian and loved the Mediterranean style of eating. Susan moved to California in her mid-20s and worked in catering. "Food was always an interest," she laughs. At 27, she moved to Alaska, where she opened an Italian restaurant. "This was in 1979. We made our own pasta and gelato. I'm almost positive we had the first espresso machine in the state. The food was more formal, northern Italian."

After traveling in Italy, Susan and her husband fell in love with the rustic, farmhouse food they experienced and wanted to open a restaurant in Seattle. They wanted it to look like a 100-year-old mom and pop place you'd stumble upon in a small Italian town. They designed and built the interior. Their partner brought the idea of having live music. They named it Serafina and called it a rustic Euro-Italian restaurant. Business took off immediately.

At the end of 1997, Susan was diagnosed with breast cancer. It changed the way she looked at things and was the impetus to her wanting to own her own place. She bought her partner out in 1998.

Good times or bad, it's almost always a full house at Serafina. "People want to know the formula," says Susan. "But there is no formula. It just happened. I can say that we're true to our belief system and not trying to be anything else; people feel that. I run the place deeply from my heart. Sometimes that's a hard thing to balance with business, but I do think the sentiment sends a message. I know people respond to our staff. We hire those who truly care about people. The staff has a sense of empowerment and ownership. They're all a big emotional part of the restaurant." Another element that Susan recently introduced is her Consiglio, basically a board of 12 people ranging from customers to performers to employees. "We've always listened to our customers and that's part of our success as well," explains Susan.

Photo courtesy of Serafina

Jody Haynes* took the job of general manager partly to figure out the magic of Serafina. "Part of it is that Serafina has a very broad appeal. It's a romantic place and also a place where people party. It has a neighborhood draw, but also pulls people in from outside the area. We have very sophisticated servers who could easily fit into more upscale restaurants and servers who are naturally much more casual. Regardless, each of them has the ability to shift and match their style to the guests, making everyone comfortable."

Despite their success, they always look for new ideas. "We don't rest on our laurels," says Susan. "We usually have more ideas than we can act on, whether it's about food or cocktails or wine. We do three big wine dinners a year, and have started smaller events for our core wine-interested customers. If a winemaker is in town, we put together an event to introduce him or her to our customers. We do monthly wine tastings with various wine experts. We've intensified our wine program over the years."

A Venetian cicchetti bar is the latest idea, born from several different directions. "People wonder why we haven't expanded Serafina, but we haven't wanted to lose the feel. With Cicchetti, we have more space plus a private dining area without having to alter Serafina. I've always loved eating small portions so I get to taste more flavors. I've been thinking about creating a small-plate restaurant for at least 10 years and finally had the perfect opportunity."

City view from Cicchetti

In May of 2009, Susan bought the two-story building behind Serafina. Permits were procured immediately so that the day after the tenants moved out, August 15, workers could move in like a swat team to create Cicchetti. A lovely, secret-garden type entrance skirts guests past the Serafina courtyard and into a casual, counter-filled room. A woodburning oven sits in one corner along with an open kitchen. An upstairs loft-like space offers a wonderful private dining room with a view of Lake Union. Downstairs, the bar will be the focal point. "It will be less formal than Serafina. You can drop by for one drink or a small snack. We won't take reservations. It will be a very communal space. People can be comfortable coming in alone. Tables will be two-tops, but if a larger group comes in, we can push tables together," explains Jody. Fifteen years ago, Susan bought a chandelier in Venice for her home. Wanting to put something similar in Cicchetti, she found the business card and called the owner. In one of those meant-to-be moments, he was traveling to Seattle and was able to visit the new space.

Serafina staff will work both spots and Executive Chef Dylan Giordan** is in charge of both menus. He has three sous chefs to help manage the kitchens. He's excited to have a woodburning oven that heats to 750°. Much of the Mediterranean menu will be cooked in the oven, not just pizzetti. Housemade sausage, grapes and balsamic-roasted vegetables will be among the items served straight from the oven. Most will be small plates with a few special larger dishes. Chef Giordan came to Serafina in 2001 working as sous chef then chef de cuisine. "He is a very humble guy, not a showman," says Susan. "He has a great sense of humor and is very easy to work with. He has really embraced Serafina's food from the Italian countryside." Jody agrees, saying, "He loves artisanal products and buys from small producers. He doesn't tout it, he just does it. Ninety percent of the produce he uses in the summer comes from small farmers. He buys lamb that is humanely raised. He follows the Italian way of life."

Chef Dylan Giordan, Owner Susan Kaufman, GM Jody Haynes

With Cicchetti, there's a whole new experience waiting to be explored. It's time to embrace the best of the Mediterranean along with the best of Italy!

*Jody Haynes has her own business and works at Terra Plata.
**Dylan Giordan has moved to bin on the lake.

Connie Adams/October 2009