Freddie Maddalena
1929-May 7, 2016
Palo Alto, California

Palo Alto restaurateur Freddie Maddalena, who brought a classy cabaret ambiance to downtown Palo Alto, died May 7 after a long struggle with Alzheimer's Disease. He was 87.

Maddalena was born in Toronto, Canada, to Rosario and Georgina Maddalena. He started in the restaurant and entertainment business at the age of 16 to support his parents. He worked as a bus boy at the King Edward Hotel, he told the Palo Alto Weekly in 2001. In 1950 he opened Mood Indigo, a sophisticated jazz nightclub at Toronto's Barclay Hotel, where he hosted many celebrities, including Sarah Vaughn, Tony Bennett, Sophie Tucker, Dorothy Dandridge, Mel Torme and Harry Belafonte.

He came to the U.S., working in 1965 as a maitre d' of the Grill Room at The Sands Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, when Frank Sinatra and Count Basie and his orchestra were star performers.

Maddalena moved to the Bay Area in the 1960s and worked at the Cabana Resort in Palo Alto when Doris Day owned it. Afterward, he worked at clubs in San Francisco, including the Blue Fox and Ernie's, where he met longtime friend and bartender Maurice Amzallag.

In 1976 he took over the space at 544 Emerson St. in Palo Alto, formerly the Golden Dragon Chinese restaurant, which had been at the site for 62 years. His first restaurant, Maddalena's, became known for its classy, white-table-cloth service and Old World elegance. It also became a legendary hangout for the famous and powerful. Actor Warren Beatty and his crew dined there during the filming of "Heaven Can Wait," which was shot at the Filoli estate in Woodside; Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak were also said to have met in the upstairs front room where they conceived of Apple Computer, Inc.

Maddalena always threw a 1920s costume party every five years for friends and regulars. Eventually, he opened a smaller nightclub next door, Cafe Fino, which offered the same food as Maddalena's with a generous side of live jazz. There were even tango lessons.

He closed Maddalena's in 2007. Cafe Fino closed shortly thereafter due in part to the costs of seismic retrofitting, he said at the time. But he could not stay out of the business. He returned to his Palo Alto roots by opening Maddalena's Cabaret Club at the Crowne Plaza Cabana Hotel and Resort. By then, he was 80 years old.

His son, Vince Maddalena, opened 888 Ristorante Italiano in San Carlos several years ago, and Vince's longtime companion, Carolyn Oliver, worked for Freddie Maddalena for 6 1/2 years as a banquet manager. He was a good dancer and had a very good singing voice, she recalled. He was attentive to his customers and remembered details about them even months after they had visited. She said he remembered the blouse she had worn two months prior when she returned to visit.

"He was a very good host. He loved the ladies, and he loved to dance," Oliver said.

Maddalena was married twice and had six children: four with his first wife, Lilly, and two with his second wife, Eileen. Lilly died in February. He is survived by Eileen of Los Altos; children Ross of New York, Teresa and Gina of Las Vegas, Vince of Menlo Park and Mia and Paul of San Mateo; six grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

Tags: business