If you drop by the Addamo Wine Tasting Room and Bistro on East Clark in Old Orcutt at lunchtime, chances are you will see a tall, blond, young-looking woman in her late 30s. She will no doubt be swathed in a large, dark green apron. While she delivers water or buses tables in the two rooms that seat 50, she will greet a steady stream of customers with a “Hi, Honey!”
Having lunched on her signature artichoke appetizer, or Italian sausage sandwiches, or homemade lasagna, or leafy salads with homemade wine vinaigrette, customers will stop to regale her with tales of a recovering rotator cuff or to compliment her on the meatballs.
This vibrant young woman who readily dispenses big smiles is the chef and overseer of the bistro. She is Liz Addamo, a formidable presence in both Santa Maria’s restaurant scene and the nonprofit world.
Liz and husband David own the Addamo Vineyards on Clark Road, several miles east of Lake Marie, as well as the tasting room and bistro. Originally from northern California, they moved to Santa Maria in 2000, because David, from a farming and wine-producing family near Hollister, wanted to grow his own vineyards and establish his own label. While they both loved the small town feel of the area, the affordable and attractive price of real estate at that time played the biggest role in David’s desire to relocate to the Santa Maria Valley.
Liz’s mother and stepfather owned two restaurants around the Salinas area where Liz and her two sisters grew up. Liz loves food-she loves cooking and serving it, so it was a no-brainer that she would run a bistro alongside the wine tasting room.
Besides, the entrepreneurial gene runs in her family. Her mother and stepfather also owned plumbing supply businesses.
It’s also probably a no-brainer that the Addamos’ penchant for food and wine would indicate that a larger, 250-seat restaurant is in their future. Indeed, they’ve had plans approved for the Barrell Room, to be built near the present Bistro in Old Orcutt. The start of construction depends on when fee and permit issues are settled.
Liz gets excited when she talks about the Barrell Room’s proposed continental Italian menu: “It will be sooooo retro ’70s,” she said. “Salad tossed at the table, crème de menthe parfaits, that kind of thing.”
In 2001, the Addamos planted 120 acres of grapes. Since that time, they’ve been planting and planting and planting-if not more grapes, then certainly the seeds of friendship and the roots of community involvement. The Addamos have opened their Tuscan villa-style home near Lake Marie Estates to all sorts of nonprofit events, including a reception for the Orcutt Aqua Center and two elegant dinner parties for the Humane Society. Their big white tent on the front lawn also serviced State Senator Abel Maldonado’s annual birthday party in 2008, as well as a fundraiser for state senatorial candidate Tony Strickland. The Tasting Room and Bistro has been the locale for Cancer Society Sunday afternoon fundraisers with celebrity waiters. (“We raised over $38,000 doing this,” Liz announced proudly.)
It was on one of those Sunday afternoons that she connected with Santa Maria Mayor Larry Lavagnino, a waiter for the day, and established a friendship. The mayor’s family has roots in San Juan Bautista in northern California-also the location of Liz’s first restaurant.
Mayor Lavagnino reported that Liz’s restaurant, the Cutting Horse, was in a former Bank of Italy building, and that his parents-both bank employees-met and fell in love in what became Liz’s first dining room. You can’t beat that as grounds for bonding.
“Santa Maria is so lucky that Liz and her husband chose to move here,” Lavagnino said. “She gives so much of herself.”
“I don’t know where she gets all her energy,” chimed in the mayor’s wife, Donna. “She just goes and goes and goes.”
At her many functions, the always-busy Liz bustles around in the green apron, filling glasses, arranging the food tables, supervising the staff, and asking the guests, “Are you having fun, Honey? What can I get you?”
This professional chef and event planner is in her glory when she’s participating in a well-attended social occasion. She thrives on planning, organizing, doing, and giving. She’s just a girl who can’t say no, especially to a good cause.
She gives to animals as well as to people and organizations. The family’s menagerie includes more than 60 animals-pets and livestock-including Sulcata tortoises, rabbits, a cockatoo, a macaw, a pony, three horses, and dogs and cats.
Liz’s mother, Linda Taylor, reported that as a child, the soft-hearted Liz was always bringing home animals she found in the streets.
“She would cry over a cat or dog that was hurt,” her mother said. “She would always ask, ‘Mom, what can we do to fix it?'”
Liz’s mother also commented that when Liz was a youngster, “she was always reading. She always had her nose in a book. She wanted to know as much as she could about everything.”
As much as she loved books, Liz loved working more. After taking college classes here and there, she abandoned school and got a job in a restaurant in San Juan Bautista. She wound up owning it.
A helping hand
Liz Addamo’s impact on Santa Maria’s nonprofit world has been profound. Her most visible and biggest volunteer job to date has been her chairmanship of the 2008 St. Jude Hospital Dream House Giveaway, which ended several weeks ago. Liz’s committee was able to raise $661,000 for the premier children’s cancer research facility in Memphis, Tennessee.
St. Jude’s, according to TV Station KCOY’s promotion manager, Laurie Pipan, was astounded at the amount of money raised. It well exceeded their expectations.
“This was a lot of money,” Pipan explained, “for a first-time effort.”
Liz was very excited about her success with the project and agreed immediately to take it on again next year. She wasted no time, and already has a 2009 giveaway house lined up.
While talking to John Scardino, who’s developing the Rice Ranch project, Liz told him about St. Jude’s and the Dream House Giveaway Program. Without blinking an eye, Scardino offered to provide next year’s Dream House Giveaway property: a house at Rice Ranch.
Scardino confirmed the offer: “We are working out a few wrinkles,” he commented.
No surprise for the keeper of so many animals, Liz is also very involved with the Santa Maria Valley Humane Society. As a board member, she took on the role of chairperson for the society’s capital campaign. They’re raising money to build a larger, up-to-date facility on Stowell Road, not far from the organization’s current Black Road location.
At the recent Santa Maria Valley Humane Society fundraiser, “DeVine Affair,” held at the Old Orcutt Loading Dock Pub, Executive Director Kelly White O’Neill announced that they’re a little over 50 percent of their goal.
“Liz is a dynamo in fundraising. It is her forte,” said board president Bodil Cudd. “She brings a lot to the table. She is a real asset to the Humane Society.”
Liz was, of course, at the “DeVine Affair.” She arrived very early with two children and a carload full of decorations-cornstalks, scarecrows, pumpkins, autumn leaves. She also brought a gift basket overflowing with Addamo products.
“We are so lucky to have Liz on the board,” chortled Realtor and animal activist Bunny Maxim. “Look at all the decorations. Liz brought them and she arranged them. She has been here for hours.
“And,” Maxim added, “she found time to bake chocolate chip cookies for our dessert table.”
Even with all of this activity, Liz still has time for a home life. Her husband, David, is a musician who enjoys jamming with his children, while Liz applauds on the sidelines. David is also an avid sports car enthusiast and races at the local Speedway, with his wife in the stands, cheering him on. She no doubt has a basket of snacks with her.
“I never go anywhere without food,” Liz said.
This lady is a keeper.
Contact Helen Ann Thomas through the executive editor at rmiller@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Dec 4-11, 2008.