This winter, Saratoga Living partnered with Letterly, a locally based, AI-powered program that teaches kids how to write, to host a writing contest for kids under the age of 18. This is the winning submission.
My grandparents are really awesome and interesting people. Most people call them John and Cathy Lanci, but I call them Nino and Gigi. They ran Lanci’s Ristorante in downtown Saratoga Springs for six years, inspired by the classic Italian cuisine of our lineage, which descends from Le Marche, Italy.
Nino and Gigi have lived in Saratoga for a really long time, and I was curious about what changes they’ve witnessed over the years. So, I asked them a few questions…
How long have you lived in Saratoga and why did you move here?
Gigi: We’ve lived here for 52 years. Nino and I moved here in 1973 when we got married.
Nino: I was raised in Albany, a bigger city, and Gigi grew up in Mechanicville, a smaller town. Saratoga was just the right size. It also had great restaurants.
Gigi: Saratoga has a lot to offer. People from all over the world come to Saratoga for the magical healing waters, the culture, and the education.
What do you mean about the “healing waters,” Gigi?
Gigi: Well, there’s underground mineral waters in Saratoga. If you read some history, you’d discover that the Iroquois and Mohawk settled the area because of the healing waters. Medicine looked a little different than what you and I know today. They used water and herbs—each with a different taste and purpose. Nino and I go for mineral baths where we sit in the water and let it work its magic on us.
What’s one thing that is different from when you moved to Saratoga?
Nino: Well, there’s a lot of development here. We were very lucky to have found our home on the Loughberry reservoir.
Gigi: As a whole, the changes that have been made have been very positive, and that’s in part due to the historical preservation society. They work to keep a certain flavor in the city, supporting new growth while keeping the charm and character of the Saratoga we always knew.
Nino: It’s been done very tastefully.
When we have “Gigi & Nino days,” I ask if we can “do the usual.” That means we go to Soave Faire and Compton’s. Have those businesses always been there?
Nino: Before Compton’s, it was called Lou’s Diner.
Gigi: It still looked the same and the menu was the same, just a different owner.
Nino: It was one of the few places you could get fresh orange juice.
How did you like running a restaurant in Saratoga? Any famous people come there, like Michael Jordan?
Gigi: [Laughs] Michael Jordan never came there. You know, Roman, “famous” means something a little different for us. We had many members of the New York City Ballet come. They’d perform on stage at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) and then get hungry. At that time, we were able to arrange the restaurant to be very romantic and cozy for them. And, Grandpa stayed open late at night as the place filled up with ballerinas. It was glorious. We had two regulars from the NYC Ballet who managed the stage crew. They invited our whole family to come backstage! We got to see how quickly they broke down the stage set. It was really special to be on the SPAC stage and see behind the scenes.
Nino: We also had famous horse owners and trainers from the racetrack visit the restaurant. One year, we had the owner of the horse that won the Travers Stakes in for a celebratory dinner. They had a great time; they didn’t want to leave that night.
Gigi: So, yes there were “famous” people in that regard. The other thing we did that was unusual for the restaurant was hosting wine dinners. We had wine makers come all the way from Italy. For people who loved good food and wine, it was amazing. Nino and I love that even now, many years after the restaurant has closed, we still see people around town who dined there often. They always tell us about a dish they loved and miss. It’s usually Nino’s bolognese.
Nino: A family secret! Well, actually, that recipe was inspired by my favorite Italian chef, Marcella Hazan.
Did you have any other jobs in Saratoga?
Nino: After I retired, I drove school buses for a while.
Gigi: A friend and I opened a food store in Saratoga called Wild Oats. Eventually, I also had my own alternative nursing practice.
What was your favorite thing to do as a kid?
Nino: Oh gee, I don’t know. I used to ride my bike a lot.
Gigi: So did I, Roman.
Nino: I played a lot of baseball.
Gigi: There is a famous story about me getting a bike. I only had one bike and it was a Columbia.
Nino: Mine too.
Gigi: The street that I lived on was small with little traffic. I said to my mother, “Mom, I’m going to learn to ride this bike today.” And I did. By the end of the day, I was black and blue and I probably fell about a hundred times. Scraped my legs and everything. But let me tell ya, I could ride that bike, ride it like I was in the circus.
