Taste of the Town: Salerno's On The Fox marks 40 years of business

ST. CHARLES – Joseph Salerno may be the owner of Salerno’s On The Fox in St. Charles, but he didn’t create the Italian-American eatery.

The restaurant, located at 320 N. 2nd St. in St. Charles, recently celebrated 40 years of business after opening in St. Charles in 1975. What started out as a small tavern in Berwyn turned into what Salerno’s On The Fox is today.

Salerno’s uncles, Vince, Arnie and Joe, started the tavern in Berwyn, just as a bar where people could come and enjoy a beverage. After a while, they decided it was time to offer an alternative to chips and peanuts, and thus came the pizza, followed by what are now signature dishes at Salerno’s On The Fox – lasagna and ravioli.

“My grandmother went in the back and broke a broomstick in half and started rolling some dough,” Salerno said. “Once they saw how much everyone liked the pizzas, they thought, ‘Imagine how much people will like the lasagna and ravioli.’ They started experimenting and they kept extending the menu more and more.”

Salerno said people come into the restaurant all the time, saying how remarkable it is that he has created and maintained the atmosphere he has. While he’s happy and proud of the Salerno name, he knows that it isn’t something he created.

“Our generation of cousins had it easy,” Salerno said. “My father and uncles came here not knowing a word of English and created something. They had no computer system, no tickets that ran, just a piece of paper to write down orders. To this day, I still laugh to myself at how unbelievable and hard that would be today.”

“We did not make these places; we carried it on,” he continued. “They made the product; we just kept it going.”

Through the years, the dishes served at Salerno’s On The Fox have hardly changed.

All of the pastas are homemade, as is the sausage, which Salerno said he personally makes twice a week.

Could Salerno and his father, Adam, make the restaurant more innovative, throwing more TVs on the walls? Or adding high top tables and chairs to compete with new restaurants opening in the area? Sure. But why would he?

“Why ruin history? You could easily change a lot about this place,” Salerno said. “There have been small changes, like the ceilings and chandeliers, but the product? I’ll never change that.”

Salerno said that in the 40 years Salerno’s On The Fox has been in business, it has been running stronger than it ever has been. And that goes from the strong customer base that loves the tradition, to hostesses – one currently working at the age of 81 – to cashiers and bartenders.

“These kids that are now 30 years old that come back in here were our servers and people that worked for me,” Salerno said. “You can ask anyone, they don’t come into work every day for a paycheck. They love this place as much as I do. We’re always here [the family], and the customers and people involved in this place continue to drive me to work every day. That’s more of a success story to me than any paycheck. We don’t look at clocks. We never have. The top priority is keeping your clientele happy. We have two types of clientele – the Joe Salerno up-and-coming customer base; and then the Adam Salerno customers who have been coming in for 30 years – and you have to keep everyone happy.”

As long as Joseph Salerno, or anyone with the Salerno last name, is in charge of Salerno’s On The Fox, you can bet that the old-school charm and homemade product will remain.

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For more information about Salerno's On The Fox, visit www.salernosonline.com or call 630-584-7900.