Police Chief Works to Serve and Protect Those Grazie Coupons

When Grazie closed suddenly in January, locals mourned the loss of one of their favorites. But Police Chief Joseph Kreins had more than a sad feeling.

He had purchased gift certificates to award to police personnel and the department’s volunteers for their good work. What better reward than a nice meal —  it beats a plaque any day.

The chief, ever reticent, wouldn’t say exactly how many gift certificates he had or had purchased, saying simply, “More than one.” Later after some gentle probing he said, “It’s a sensitive issue; let’s just say several.”

The chief left holding the bag is not good and especially not good for the future recipients.

“I did send a certified letter to the former owner, Debbie, but I wasn’t surprised that I didn’t hear back,” Kreins said.

Tah-dah! To the rescue comes Henry Hautau, owner of , who offered in late January to accept the $25 Grazie certificates for half their face value until Feb. 12 (dining only and up to a maximum of $25 per dining table).

Subsequently, the new kid on the block, Mike Ghiringhelli of , said he would honor the gift certificates for face value, up to $75 per table, with no expiration date.

This offer is interesting in a couple of ways, because Mark Edwards is a partner in Ghiringhelli’s and was an important player previously at Finnegan’s. 

This kind of rivalry is good for the chief, his recipients and Novato.

“The effort from Finnegan’s and Ghiringhelli’s is a great business model and a great model for the community,” Kreins declared.

Accordion Player Swings By Local Restaurants

Musician Johnny Ka-Zay Jr. cares for his parents in their Bel Marin Keys home, but despite his home care duties, this 64-year-old still finds time to play the accordion professionally as Giovanni (his stage name) in local restaurants and for private parties.

His life experience meant living here and in Medford, Ore., two marriages and a 10-year stint in the army. His “straight job” was as a dental technician.

A relative let him fool around with an accordion when he was just 5 years old. It was love at first squeeze. He’s been playing ever since and is self-taught. 

Today, his musician heroes are Art Van Damme and Myron Floren, the later known for his appearances on television with Lawrence Welk.

A good part of Ka-Zay’s life revolves around the accordion. He, as well as thousands, attend a Las Vegas convention dedicated to the instrument and its players. And for more than 20 years, Cotati in Sonoma County has hosted an annual accordion festival in August.

Once the butt of jokes and heard mostly in polka bands, or Mexican Norteno music, with its signature omp-pa-pah beat, the accordion also has Cajun roots and European appeal. It is used in a few symphonic pieces and these days, says Ka-Zay, and can even be heard in rock music and rap.

One recent development in Mexican music, using the accordion, is groups performing Narco Corridos, in which they extol the exploits of drug smugglers.

Closer to home and more peacefully, Giovanni has played every Friday night at Sorella Caffe in Fairfax for eight years. From time to time he plays at Ghiringhelli’s on Sundays.

So why is his stage name Italian when his heritage is Russian-Hungarian?

“I took that name because I excel at Italian music,” he explains.

We had to know, what is the most requested song in his repertoire?

“'That’s Amore' — the pizza song — everyone sings along,” he says with a chuckle.

Aurora's Owner Now Making Pizzas in Sausalito

Carlo Scatena has been in the restaurant business in Marin, spanning three cities, for more than 20 years. In San Rafael he owns Café Arrivederci on G Street, on Commercial Boulevard in Novato and up until recently Cacciucco Cucina Toscano at 300 Valley, Suite 207, in Sausalito. His partner in the Novato and San Rafael restaurants is Pedro Ulloa.

Recently, Scatena assessed that his seven-year-old Cacciucco was not performing up to expectations, so in mid-February he took bold action. He renamed it Aurora Pizzeria, bought out his partner there, Davide Cerretini, made the restaurant more casual and started making pizzas.

“So far,” says Scatena, "we’ve had a positive response.”

He doesn’t have a wood-fired oven, something that would be too complicated to install in Sausalito, he says. But he uses the popular imported zero-zero flour for his thin-crusted pizzas.

His pizzas range in price from $10 for a Margherita to $15 for one topped with greens, Pecorino cheese and imported proscuitto.