Sorriso Kitchen – a unique eatery sure to make you smile!

About

Thank you for your time and interest. It is our hope that you find our vision inspiring enough to help make it happen.

Let's begin with our name...Sorriso means “smile” in Italian and is the name of our new breakfast and lunch eatery inspired by our son, LJ who has Down Syndrome and brings a smile to everyone he meets.

This new 45-seat eatery will be moderately priced and will offer a unique dining experience in a bright, cheerful and comfortable atmosphere. A creative menu prepared by our CIA trained Chef, Ryan Chatfield will be sure to please any palate using fresh farm-to-table ingredients. Open 6 days for breakfast and lunch, it will be family operated with a focus on exceptional service. There will be some Italian and Greek influence in the menu as we’ll be sharing some favorites from our family recipes and inspiration from visits to Italy.

Our intent is to attract area residents, especially young families for a delicious meal, superb coffees and beverages for both eat-in and take-out. With our convenient Main Street location in Chatham NJ, creative menu, cool vibe, family presence, valued customer service and attention to detail, we anticipate quickly building a steady repeat customer base. We are dedicated to making our customers happy.

But one of our best features is that we will be closed one day a week.

On Mondays Sorriso Kitchen will provide an opportunity to train young adults with Special Needs as it will be used as a "classroom" for education in service and hospitality. It will be closed to the public so students with disabilities from son L.J.'s school, ECLC of NJ, here in Chatham can spend the day getting their training. We are presently working with them to establish this program where we will provide the facility, and they the education. The goal is to offer them a positive experience in a workplace where they’ll be respected, accepted and encouraged as they acquire the real life job skills they need to become employed in the community. As a graduation exercise, we thought it would be fun to have the students create and design a menu with our chef to invite their families to Sorriso to serve dinner and show off all they've learned. These young adults are capable of SO much but just need to be given the opportunity to do so.

In addition, ECLC will be commissioned to print our Rewards and promotional items for the restaurant such as our t-shirts, tote bags,
notecards, etc. through the SKIL program.

Sorriso Kitchen at Night. As an innovative use of our space in the evening, we will be planning a monthly schedule of dinners and entertainment offered to the public. We plan to do so for fundraising, team-building, private events, Breakfast for Dinner Pajama Parties, art instruction events and workshops to name a few. We are excited to be able to provide tremendous opportunities to serve the community.

Why are we opening Sorriso Kitchen?

• Our town needs a good restaurant with farm-to-table food for breakfast and lunch.
• Jimmy grew up in the restaurant business and has always wanted to go back.
• Our son L.J. (17) who has Down Syndrome can work in a safe and respected environment.
• Karen loves to cook and entertain and is an artist and designer.
• Nico (14), has the restaurant gene and wants to work when not attending school.
• We want to support the Special Needs Community.
• Feels like this is what we’re “supposed to do.”
• It makes us and everyone we tell smile…