At Sapore Italiano in Burlingame, it’s personal 

In 2019, D’Urzo opened nearby Burlingame eatery Centro Pizza and two years later celebrated the launch of a third restaurant — Sapore Express, located in San Mateo. All three eateries feature fresh-made Italian-style food, with a focus on homemade pasta at Sapore Express and traditional Neapolitan pizza at Centro. 

But it’s at Sapore Italiano that D’Urzo has concerned himself with the kind of community-building warmth one could find on the streets of his home country, Italy. 

“Here, it’s different. Here, you have the ambiance. It’s a hangout place. People, they come here — they don’t just come here to eat. They come here to talk with other people,” D’Urzo said. 

He lightheartedly bemoaned the lack of central gathering spaces across the Peninsula, something that he hopes Sapore can fill in the gaps for in Burlingame. 

“This is the thing in Italy. There, in the town, they have a square. It’s called a piazza. You don’t have this in this country. There is no piazza,” he said. “What do they like to do here? Parking space.”

D’Urzo prides himself on cultivating repeat clientele — locals who’ve watched his children grow up and who he, in turn, has gotten to know well. One couple, for example, has been coming to his restaurant nearly since the doors first opened. At almost 80 years old, they sit down to dinner at Sapore nearly every day. 

“When they don’t come, they call me to give the table away,” he said. 

That’s the spirit that inspired him to partner with San Mateo County District 5 Supervisor David Canepa’s campaign to address the loneliness epidemic, cutting costs for his family-style lunch buffet to only $9.99 to help elders and young people socialize and connect. 

And it’s with the same motivating force that D’Urzo leads regular field trips for second graders, showing them how to make bread in the kitchen, and donates holiday meals for the Burlingame Recreation Center. 

For him, the business is community oriented to both the benefit of the larger Burlingame family and for his own. 

“The people, they come here, they eat at my restaurant, you know what they do? They pay for my kid’s college,” D’Urzo said. “I don’t need to become rich. If I can manage to pay this bill, I don’t need to drive a Ferrari.” 

A good relationship with his longtime landlord has been key to having a successful business in Burlingame, D’Urzo said, noting that during the pandemic, he wasn’t charged rent for six months — a gesture of good faith that helped immensely during a challenging time for many restaurants. 

He expressed empathy for small business owners across the country, especially those pursuing a restaurant business, recommending a careful look at the financial feasibility of leasing agreements and a quickly-adapting mindset as keys to continued success. 

“You need to change yourself all the time, challenge yourself all the time, do something new,” he said. “That’s what this business like right now.” 

D’Urzo is continually taking his own advice — branching out into catering only six months ago, for example — and is grateful it’s allowed him to bring authentic Italian food to the Peninsula for over two decades. 

“This is the American dream,” he said. “I’ll be honest with you.”

Staple favorites for visitors at Sapore Italiano — located at 1447 Burlingame Ave. — include the pasta rustica and gnocchi Gorgonzola. Hours are 4-9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 4-9:30 p.m. on Friday, noon-9:30 p.m. Saturday and noon-9 p.m. on Sunday.