VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: Hometown Hospitality: A Family Business Feeding Syracuse for Generations
Reporter Hunter Caparelli: Dominick Tassone Sr. immigrated from Italy to chase the American Dream after World War II and opened a bakery in Syracuse. Four generations later, Tassone has become a locally recognizable name.
Debbie Camire: Tassone is a very popular name in Syracuse.
Biscotti’s owner Josh Camire: You can’t go around any corner without someone saying that, ‘Oh, you’re related to Dominick Tassone.’
Caparelli: Granddaughter of Dominick Tassone Sr. and former co-owner of Biscotti’s Debbie Camire says growing up around food is part of being a Tassone.
Debbie Camire: Food has been instilled in us since we grew up.
Caparelli: Dominick’s, Biscotti’s, Tassone’s Wine Garden Modern Bakery, and Café Blue, are some of the popular restaurants with ties to the Tassone family. Café Blue owner Olivia Orlando admits her journey to becoming a fourth generation owner has been surreal.
Café Blue owner Olivia Orlando: I worked at Dominick’s, I worked at Biscotti’s, my dad has a restaurant, it’s called Limp Lizard. It’s bizarre the amount of, it just runs in our blood.
Caparelli: Youngest and newest Tassone business owner Josh Camire, who bought Biscotti’s from his parents in April, says their family recipe for success is focusing on the little things.
Josh Camire: Even a grain of sugar is over too much, we don’t like it.
Caparelli: Because there are so many strands of the family that have been involved over the generations, some who live in Syracuse who might be familiar with the original Tassone name might not know their favorite restaurants all connect back to the family patriarch.
Debbie Camire: We are still the Tassone family, and we still are in food, and we still want to bring people together and make people happy with food.
Caparelli: Debbie’s husband who married into the family, and former co-owner of Biscotti’s Geoff Camire, says the Tassone’s have come a long way growing a sincere compassion for the Syracuse community.
Former Biscotti’s co-owner Geoff Camire: I think they embrace us. Being 27 years into the bakery, we’ve grown a huge reputation with the community, and they count us and we count on them.
Caparelli: 2026 will mark 80 years since Dominick Tassone Sr. opened a bakery that would eventually act as the foundation to a family of restaurateurs. In Syracuse, Hunter Caparelli, NCC News.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — At nearly every corner of Syracuse’s restaurant scene, you can find lineage of the Tassone’s family’s, from cozy cafés to bustling Italian restaurants. Now, a new generation of local owners in the family business are sharing how their roots and relationships have helped shape their sense of community.
Dominick Tassone Sr., the family’s patriarch, immigrated from Italy after the end of World War II, to chase the American dream. He opened Modern Bakery in Syracuse in 1946 and kept it running until 1981. Although Tassone passed away 10 years later, his son Dominick Tassone Jr. continued his father’s legacy by opening an Italian restaurant in Syracuse named Dominick’s. The Tassone family business continued to grow and expand in Syracuse after the successes of both Modern Bakery and Dominick’s.
Today, the Tassone family has ties to multiple former and current restaurants and cafés across Syracuse. Local café and pastry shop Biscotti’s and local coffee shop Café Blue — which opened in 1998 and 2023 respectively — are now both owned and run by great-grandkids of Tassone.
Granddaughter of Tassone and former co-owner of Biscotti’s, Debbie Camire, said growing up around food is part of being a Tassone.
“I grew up in my grandfather’s bakery, which was Modern Bakery,” said Debbie. “And then my dad opened up a restaurant called Dominick’s restaurant when I was 15. From 15, I worked there for quite a few years. So, food has been instilled in us since we grew up.”
Other restaurants and establishments in Syracuse connected to Tassone also include Limp Lizard BBQ, owned by Nick and Chuck Orlando, Tassone’s Wine Garden, owned by John Tassone, and Tassone’s Farm, owned by Savrio Tassone and operated by his daughters Toni and Kellie Tassone.
Fourth generation owner of Café Blue Olivia Orlando, daughter of Nick Orlando, admits her journey to opening a restaurant has been surreal.
“I worked at Dominick’s, I worked at Biscotti’s, my dad has a restaurant, it’s called Limp Lizard,” said Orlando. “Our great-grandfather had a bakery, and my other grandfather had a deli, so it just goes all the way back. It’s been a huge part of Syracuse, and it’s bizarre the amount of, it just runs in our blood.”
Youngest and newest Tassone family business owner Josh Camire, who bought Biscotti’s from his parents Debbie and Geoff Camire in April, said their family recipe for success is focusing on the little things.
“We pay very close attention to the smallest of details there is possible,” said Josh. “Even a grain of sugar is over too much, we don’t like it. It’s like we are so attention to detail, and very focused on making the same product over and over and over again.”
Debbie’s husband, who married into the Tassone family, and former co-owner of Biscotti’s Geoff Camire, said the Tassone’s have been accepted by many in the Syracuse community.
“I think they embrace us,” said Geoff. “Being 27 years into the bakery, we’ve grown a huge reputation with the community, and they count on us and we count on them. We’re part of every event. We’re part of weddings, we’re part of birthdays, we’re part of anniversaries, we’re part of graduations, we’re part of First Communions.”
Josh said his priority as a new restaurant owner is to continue his family’s legacy of giving back to the community.
“We love giving back,” said Josh. “Assumption church, we donate a lot of stuff over there, donations to a lot of charities we love to be a part of. It’s just wanting to help out because if the community helps us out with helping us run our business, we want to show love back to them.”
Although last names have changed over the years because of marriages and other family shifts, Olivia believes enjoying a family sit-down meal has remained consistent.
“I think Dominick’s just became a household favorite of that warm, comfort, ‘What are we having for dinner,’” said Olivia. “So, I hope that Café Blue can live up to that for people too.”
Next year will mark 80 years since Tassone Sr. opened a bakery that would eventually act as the foundation to a family of restaurateurs. As new generations open their doors and shape Syracuse’s next dining chapter, the Tassone’s family’s influence still lingers with every warm welcome, every shared recipe and every reminder that success begins with connection.
