Vegas restaurant owners face anger, criticism after Sisolak visit

The owners of Monzu Italian Oven are happy to entertain politicians. They just ask that you check the politics at the door.

“People are frustrated that life has been turned upside down, with no clue as to when the end will be. That anger usually ends up being directed at our leadership, so nothing new there,” vocalist Naomi Mauro, who co-owns Monzu with her husband, Gio Mauro, said in a text Tuesday morning. “But we didn’t anticipate such a harsh reaction towards us simply for hosting him.”

The “him” is Gov. Steve Sisolak. The Mauros found themselves unwitting players in an online dustup Monday after video surfaced of the governor and his wife, Kathy, dining at the restaurant with another couple Saturday night.

The Mauros are nothing less than Vegas culinary royalty. Gio’s mother, Nora, opened Nora’s Italian Cuisine in 1991 at the very spot where Monzu, which opened in 2018, now sits (Nora’s has since moved to a new location on West Flamingo Road).

As a result of this long, flavorful history, the Mauros have many friends across the political divide. The couple emphasize that theirs is an apolitical business, and Saturday’s visit by Sisolak was far from a campaign stop. The governor has visited the restaurant routinely, long before he was in the statehouse.

No matter. The Mauros are now withstanding criticism after Sisolak and his dining party were spotted at Monzu on Saturday night. The video clip posted late Sunday afternoon showed the governor’s party near Naomi Mauro and her three-piece backing band, out on the town and supporting a family-owned Las Vegas business.

No violations were displayed — the governor follows protocols set by the governor — with the couple stressing that the Sisolak’s party was masked when they arrived and as they moved around the dining room. It is difficult to say how distant the first couple was from Mauro’s band, but there was a grand piano between his table and the stage.

Gio Mauro said of the clip, posted on his personal Facebook page, “Oh boy. This is so misleading.”

Not insignificantly, Monzu maintains a spotless safety record. Mauro’s jazz band has performed Saturdays since the restaurant reopened May 23, with no citations, no drama and nary an issue — until Sisolak’s arrival.

Gio Mauro has received what he calls three “hate calls,” two he dumped after a few seconds and one of which ended in a shouting match.

“I have had people viciously attacking me for letting him in.” Mauro said Tuesday afternoon. “For someone to take the time to call and threaten to inflict damage to your business because you had the audacity to serve someone — I don’t understand. One person on Facebook accused me of comping him. Calling me greedy, I mean, every insult in the book.

“I am so emotionally flustered. I couldn’t believe someone would stoop to that level.”

As the clip from Saturday went viral Sunday night and through Monday, the Mauros received at least a couple of one-star reviews on consumer websites, with those leaving the poor reviews blasting the restaurant for hosting Sisolak.

As we’ve reported, a few Las Vegas-area businesses been told to take down the same type of live music staged at Monzu, and that frustration has been turned against the Mauros (one such comment, “Sisolak was caught in your restaurant over the weekend enjoying LIVE music, while he’s banning everyone else?!?,This is nowhere near ambient music. I see a stage microphone, and a band.”).

One poster repeated the same phrase, “Do not eat here!!” a half-dozen times. Several abusive posts to the couple’s and the business’ Facebook pages since Monday have been taken down.

In the face of all this negativity, the Mauros also have received a groundswell of support from the Vegas entertainment community.

Longtime Las Vegas singer and MGM Resorts International entertainment executive Stephanie Sanchez posted, “I got my five-stars in and I will drive in this week from Pahrump to get at that bread! Diet be damned … it’s for a good cause.” Violin great and Las Vegas Philharmonic concertmaster De Ann Letourneau checked in with, “This is just rubbish. You should report these people because they obviously are making political remarks on your site rather than truly ‘reviewing’ your amazing restaurant.”

The Mauros certainly appreciate being propped up in this saga. They’ve been fighting the COVID-19 battles, too. As Gio says, “If people only knew how much financial trouble my family has been put in because of this, I would have an ax to grind, too. But I don’t. We all need to be part of a society.”

The family’s passion is evident. Naomi is a terrific singer, whether she’s singing for 50 people dining on Italian fare, or for a packed house with David Perrico’s Pop Evolution at Myron’s Cabaret Jazz. And preparing food is Gio’s life.

“My job in the community is to cook for people, not to get into political grandstanding,” Gio Mauro says. “All of that stops at my door, from the bottom of my heart. It is a mission to me. My food is a unifier. That is what gets me up, and gets me going every day.”

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.