John Iachetti has been around the block in the culinary neighborhood. After attending The Culinary Institute of America, he worked at various venues over the years, including the Loews Regency Hotel in New York City.
In 2018, he opened Iachetti’s at 918 Prospect Street in Glen Rock. The restaurant’s innovative menu highlighted American cuisine seasoned with an Italian influence accented by a wood-burning brick oven. “They’re perfect for all types of cooking because they give foods a slightly smokey, complex flavor that a typical stove cannot duplicate,” he says.
The restaurant’s original menu was packed with unique dishes that John cooked throughout his professional career at hotels and restaurants. Over the years, John realized that his guests were most enthusiastic toward the classic Italian foods that harkened back to his roots. Now, John is recreating those favorites by enhancing the menu with specialties from every region of Italy—Tuscany, Naples, and Piemonte--as well as the best family specialties passed down from generations this side of Sicily.
“I grew up near Arthur and Belmont Avenue in the Bronx and fondly remember weekly visits to my family in Yonkers as well as Mama Leone’s in Manhattan,” says John. “I wanted to reinvent that feeling of sitting down and enjoying good food with family, so our new menu is reminiscent of those amazing family dinners and those renowned “red sauce” restaurants that made such an impression on me as a kid. We cook the kind of Italian favorites people want—with a new twist. We’re keeping them light, simple, and fresh. It’s a new take on Italian.”
Iachetti’s new menu features heartfelt specialties, including Aunt Lina’s meatballs, Granny Flo’s rice balls, Uncle Clemente’s gnocchi, Aunt Angie’s broccoli rabe, and various types of spiedini including octopus, veal, beef, or pork. “I’ll also be cooking up my mom’s Sunday gravy,” adds John. “All of the food we grew up on.”
Fans of the original menu need not fear that their favorites will go by the wayside. John plans on running weekly specials emulating the current menu, including braised short ribs, cioppino, and baby back ribs. “We’re also adding a Neopolitan brick oven pizza and dishes featuring chef-made mozzarella,” says John.
There’s more than a new menu at Iachetti’s. John is also developing a new late-night model for post-dinner entertainment, unlike anything in Bergen County. “I’m in the process of planning something that will be a ‘night out’ for people who don’t want to head home at 9:00 p.m. We’ll have evening performances including musicians, comedians--perhaps a mentalist, too. I want to provide somewhere for people to enjoy an engaging performance complemented with late-night foods (think: pizzas and frittatas) and desserts in a fun and relaxing atmosphere.” Since Iachetti’s does not have a liquor license, a mixologist will be on site with mocktail mixes to which guests can add their own spirits.
Nostalgic décor and family photos grace the walls as a nod to the family members who laid the foundation of the wholesome, delicious meals John and his team provide to Bergen County. Family-style meal packages are available for pick-up for parents that need a night off from the kitchen, and Iachetti’s also hosts private parties. “We provide a place where people feel at home,” says John. “We close the restaurant for private parties—the whole place is yours when you book here. You can decorate and order however you wish!”
“I enjoy making meals for our guests that contain the very best ingredients,” says John. “Simply prepared and served with love.”
