Bruno Cataldo, 92, of South Bend died on Saturday March 2 at around 2 PM while in hospice care. Bruno was born November 10, 1926 in Gerace, Reggio di Calabria, Italy, to Giuseppe and Teresa (Milieri) Cataldo, and married Maria Rosa Bova on April 5, 1964. They came to America shortly thereafter and began 54 years of married life characterized by an exemplary and exceptional work ethic and an unwavering and constant devotion to family.
In 1975 Bruno, Rosa, and her sister Teresa, co-founded the legendary Bruno’s Original Pizza. Bruno’s bigger-than-life, unique and extraordinary personality created an atmosphere which made Bruno’s Pizza more than just a restaurant, more than just the cliche of being an “experience”. When you entered Bruno’s you entered another world – a magical, mystical world where you were fed not only pizza and pasta and bread and wine but also spiritual food for your hungry heart and soul.
Bruno used to say that eating his food would “build you up”. And it was more than the food. It was meeting Bruno himself.
Bruno cared about everyone he met at the pizzeria. He would appear in the dining room, sit down to visit at a random table in a cloud of flour dust, and sometimes invite adults as well as children into his kitchen. Usually before you went back to your table you had a flour handprint on your back and the kids had a piece of dough as a souvenir.
He cared about his guests’ families, their stories, their businesses, where they came from, where they were going, what they were building, their work, their trade, and their plans. Bruno made them feel important. The pizzeria was his world and he made everyone he met there feel like they were the center of the world.
Over the course of 25 years, with the help of his brothers and friends, Bruno squared the footers, poured yards of concrete and laid block and brick to expand a little grocery store building into the sprawling restaurant that stands on Prairie Ave today. Faced with the dual responsibility of raising a young family and ensuring the success of a new business venture that needed his full attention, Bruno turned to his wife, siblings, brother-in-laws, and nieces and nephews for help. They responded with financial assistance but most of all with their time and labor.
Many of those who helped Bruno have been able to support their own families by operating some of the best Italian restaurants in Elkhart and nearby areas. The People say “Bruno was a great man”. His greatness was in making others feel great when they were with him.
It was a gift. Bruno was an honorable man and his honor was in the generosity he showed to others. It was as natural for him as breathing.
It was sincere and genuine. Bruno Cataldo didn’t have a phony bone in his body. What you saw and heard and experienced was as real as rain.
Bruno’s parents instilled in him the qualities that were the bedrock foundation for his success – his work ethic, his loyalty and his perseverance in achieving his goals. These qualities were evident every day of his life. When God takes the measure of a man he puts the tape around his heart.
And Bruno’s heart was as big as the Mediterranean sky under which he wandered growing up in Reggio di Calabria Italia. He was perfectly in tune with the world and everyone he met wanted to be in tune with him. The song that describes his life and evokes his memory so well is Frank Sinatra’s “My Way”.
Yet despite his personal virtues the thing that many people most associated with him was his pizza. Bruno turned making pizza into an art. He was famous for the “value added” pizza… order a small pizza and you would get a pizza so large you could barely get it out the door.
Every detail mattered – There was only one way to make pizza and that was his way. As the brand expanded, Bruno made it his mission to enforce The “Bruno” style of pizza. Bruno entrusted the owner/operators with his name and product knowing that if they stayed true to his style they would be successful, which was his ultimate goal.
When he wasn’t in the restaurant or making pizza Bruno was most at home in an orchard or on a farm. A vineyard and olive trees as far as the eye could see were his cathedral. An acre of tomatoes his prayer book.
He enjoyed a great meal with a glass of his or anyone’s wine “if it’s homemade. . it’s good vino” Bruno never missed a year making his wine and it seemed he could never make enough.
He knew dozens of farmers for miles around and when he went on his agricultural adventures he usually took along a friend or a family member. Bruno was essentially a man of the earth. He was salt of the earth.
Besides his love of the farms and all the wonders that grew there he also loved listening to Calabrese folk music and comedy as he drove around in one of his many classic cars. His favorite musical pastime was listening to his daughter Anna play Calabrese tarantella tunes on her accordion. Bruno’s legacy is especially evident in his children’s achievements.
The talents of his daughter, Anna, reflect his love and enjoyment of music. Bruno conveyed his lifelong fascination with architectural design and involvement in construction work to his oldest son, Joseph, who possesses masterful trade skills. The responsibility for the ongoing care and success of the pizza portion of Bruno’s legacy has fallen to many individuals.
Bruno provided valuable guidance, leadership, knowledge, wisdom, and instruction to his youngest son, John, and to many others who have played and continue to play a role in ensuring that the Bruno’s enterprise flourishes. They include various family members and relatives, the owners/operators of the affiliated Bruno’s Original Pizza restaurants, and the countless employees who have worked for Bruno’s during the past 45 years. These key players, and even other individuals who “studied” under Bruno’s watchful eye and then went on to pursue their own paths, have all inherited a priceless gift from their business padrino.
They have all reaped the benefits of Bruno’s common sense approach to business and customer appreciation. Bruno’s presence, his practical, common sense advice, his smile, his memorable sayings and one-liners will be missed by his family, friends and customers. Bruno was bigger than life and leaves a legacy which embodies The American Dream.
Bruno is survived by one sister Maria (Antonio) Lizzi and by two brothers, Dominic (Sarita) of Elkhart, Paul of Gerace Italy, one sister in law Maria (Antonio). And many loving nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by a brother, Antonio, and two sisters, Cuncetta (Vince) Siciliano and Anna (Dominic) Lizzi Bruno is also survived by his grandchildren: Michael, Bruno, and Max Chaffee (Anna and Randy); Bruno, John, and Julie Cataldo (Joseph and Tanya); Bruno, Rocco, and Mario Cataldo (John and Cara).
Thank you to all the doctors and caregivers, especially Dr. George Friend, for going above and beyond. Special thanks to Jeffery Gainey who lovely authored Bruno Cataldo’s great life. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, March 8, 2019 at St. Hedwig Catholic Church, 309 S. Taylor Street, South Bend.
Graveside services and burial will follow at St. Joseph Valley Memorial Park, Granger. Friends may visit with the family from 3:00-7:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 7th, at the Palmer Funeral Home-Guisinger Chapel, 3718 S. Michigan Street, South Bend where a rosary will be recited at 3:00 p.m. Friends may also visit with the family from 10:00-11:00 a.m. on Friday at the church. In lieu of flowers, contributions in memory of Bruno may be donated to Palmer Funeral Home, 3718 S. Michigan Street, South Bend, IN 46614.
Online condolences may be offered to the family at www.
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